In a fitting sequel to the four three-point shots he made during his team’s 116-99 win over Air21 last Tuesday, the 6-foot-1 Ritualo nailed 19 triples in the final round to beat Hontiveros by one shot and Arigo by two.

"Hindi ko ginawa ‘yung game shot ko, medyo nag-set shot ako na hindi gaano mataas ang talon," beamed Ritualo.

The former La Salle Green Archer, who finished eighth among the nine participants last year in Laoag, made it to the championship as the third finalist with a score of 17 points.

It was Arigo who topped the eliminations with 20 while Hontiveros had 18.

Shooting first in the finals, Ritualo put on the pressure on Hontiveros and Arigo by making 4-of-5 money balls worth two points.

Hontiveros, who defeated Willie Miller in last year’s finals, followed next and made all his shots in the first rack for six points but he struggled in the second and third racks making just 3-of-10 shots.

As for Arigo, he had a chance to force a shoot-off with Ritualo but missed the two-point money ball in the final rack to finish with 17.

Prior to this All-Star Weekend, Ritualo’s best finish was second behind TNT teammate Jimmy Alapag in 2002.

Other participants were Welcoat Paints rookie Joe De Vance, Nino Canaleta of Air21, Red Bull’s Mike Hrabak, Junthy Valenzuela of Ginebra, Purefoods’ James Yap, Sta. Lucia Realty’s Nelbert Omolon and Miller.

In the slam dunk contest, Sta. Lucia’s Kelly Williams won the title by besting Air21’s Arwind Santos and Ginebra’s Ronald Tubid in the finals.

Taking advantage of the absence of three-time defending champion Canaleta, who decided not to join for lack of preparation and bruise on his right knee, Williams was too much for Tubid and Santos.

Williams, who failed to make it to the championship in last year’s contest when he missed two between-the-legs attempts in the semifinals, had 98 points in the finals, 48 in his first attempt and a perfect 50 in the second.

In his first dunk in the finals, Williams, with the help of SLR teammate Ryan Reyes who tossed the ball at the back board, caught the leather at mid-air, turned his back at the rim before throwing in down with a two-handed dunk.

In the Blitz Game, the rookies again triumphed against the sophomores with a 101-97 win, making it back-to-back victories for the league’s freshmen.

The rookies were led by 25 points on 5-of-11 triples and five steals from Buenafe, who was named the game’s MVP. Chico Lanete of Purefoods added 17 points, while Cruz and De Vance had 14 each.

Last year in La Union, the rookies, led by the 31-point performance of Arwind Santos, defeated the sophomores, 122-107.

The scores:

Rookies 101 — Buenafe 25, Lanete 17, Cruz 14, De Vance 14, Bono 10, Aljamal 8, Kramer 7, Eman 6.

Sophomores 97 — Tenorio 19, Pacana 14, Reyes 13, Ibanez 12, Andaya 12, Membrere 11, Cabatu 10, Isip 6.

Quarters: 20-27, 46-54, 77-75, 101-97.