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| Vic Manuel takes a breather after giving Manila North the win. Ivan Saldajeno |
By Ivan Saldajeno
MANILA--Vic Manuel hit two clutch charities with seven seconds left as Manila North survived a late comeback by Beirut to take a 20-18 win in their FIBA 3x3 Manila Masters clash at the Robinson's Place Manila on Saturday.
Manuel's free throws helped the squad of fellow Alaska Ace Calvin Abueva, Mahindra's Karl Dehesa, and PBA Draft hopeful Troy Rosario turn back the team of Alaa Anaout, Tarek Merhabi, Omar El-Ayoubi, and Ribal Bechara, who made a late push to try stealing the win.
Manila North threatened to pull away as it built a 10-3 advantage over Beirut highlighted by a follow-up posterizer by Rosario.
But the Lebanese team fought back with a barrage of deuces and forced an 18-all tie with under a minute left.
Manuel then got fouled in the last Manila North offensive with 7.2 seconds on the clock. With Beirut in the penalty, Manuel swished in his pair of free throws that turned out to be the marginal baskets.
Beirut failed to convert a long tom in the end, and it eventually took the team out of playoff contention as it lost earlier Saturday to Slovenian-based Ljubljana.
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