JUAN Gomez de Liaño played a key role for Zamboanga Valientes as Pretty Huge also booked a spot in the quarterfinals of the 3x3 Basketball Thai Super League Saturday in Central Ayutthaya.
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The former University of the Philippines guard made big contributions for Zamboanga as it finished third in Pool A with a 3-2 win-loss card.
Issa Gaye drained the game-winning deuce in the Valientes' 21-18 win over Sniper X of Thailand, while Reed Juntilla also played the role of the hero in their 21-16 victory over Shoot It Dragons of Thailand.
Those two wins made up for Zamboanga's 21-20 collapse to Team Busy of Singapore to start the gameday.
Meanwhile, Jay Washington carried Pretty Huge to a 19-12 win over Luang Prabang of Laos and a 21-14 conquest of Sriracha Eagle of Thailand to also advance to the final eight.
It would have been a perfect 3-0 run for the Filipino club, but the squad, which also had Trevis Jackson and Marcus Hammonds, fell to HiTech Titans, 16-15.
More impressive was that Pretty Huge did it with just three players on hand after Raffy Verano suffered a sprained ankle in the first game of day two as they wrapped up the eliminations with a 3-2 card, good for third place in Pool B.
Odds, however, won't be in favor of the Filipino teams in the quarters with Zamboanga facing Pool B's no. 2-seed HiTech Titans (4-1) and Pretty Huge battling Pool A's no. 2-squad Tokyo Dime of Japan (4-1).