Donald Gumaru in the past. Ralph Cu is now speaking.

On Tuesday at the Ayala Mall Circuit, the former De La Salle player hit the game-winning two as Barangay Ginebra defeated Meralco, 19-17, to win a second consecutive leg in the PBA 3×3 First Conference Season 3.

Cu’s heroics were comparable to those of Gumaru, who scored the game-winning goal against San Miguel last week to lift the Kings to victory in overtime and the first leg championship.

Ginebra won the P100, 000 champion’s prize with a final-round performance of Cu scoring six points while Kim Aurin concluded with eight points and five rebounds.

With 17 seconds left in the game, an Alfred Batino basket kept Meralco ahead, 17-16, after controlling nearly the whole game.

However, Gumaru saved the Kings by scoring on a layup right before the final horn to force overtime.

With a 19-15 victory over Blackwater, Cavitex finished third in the conference for the second consecutive season.

Following a similar podium position in the first leg last week, the Braves won another P30,000 in prize money thanks to Tonino Gonzaga, who finished with seven points and five rebounds.

Meralco defeated Wilcon Depot in a low-scoring match (14-13), Ginebra defeated Purefoods (17-13), Cavitex defeated San Miguel (19-17), and Blackwater defeated Pioneer Elastoseal (22-13) in the quarterfinals.

Meralco defeated Cavitex 21-18 in the semifinal match, while Ginebra defeated Blackwater 22-17.

The Scores

Third Place

• Cavitex 19 – Gonzaga 7, Ighalo 5, Napoles 4, Fajardo 3.
• Blackwater 15 – Publico 8, Salva 3, Bayla 2, Jamison 2.

Finals

• Ginebra 19 – Aurin 8, Cu 6, Salcedo 3, Gumaru 2.
• Meralco 17 – Batino 6, Sedurifa 5, Manday 4, Santos 2.