ENCHO Serrano and Jayson David gave Barangay Ginebra a new spark as the Kings clinched a berth in the PBA 3x3 quarterfinals with a four-game sweep of all its assignment in the opening leg of Conference 2 Saturday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
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Serrano and David teamed up with mainstays Jolo Go and Denice Villamor in steering the team on top of Pool A with a perfect 4-0 record.
The Kings kicked off their campaign with a 15-14 win over Platinum Karaoke on a Go game-winner, and then turned back new guest team Master Sardines, 21-19, Sista Super Sealers, 21-20, and Terrafirma, 21-15, one after the other to progress in the knockout stage on Sunday.
Inaugural grand champion Limitless App and TnT Tropang Giga also emerged unscathed in the opener of the first leg to assume leadership in their respective pools.
The quartet of Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser, Marvin Hayes, Reymar Caduyac, and Jorey Napoles whipped NorthPort, 21-8, and Cavitex, 21-16, in taking the lead in Pool C, while the Tropang Giga leaned on first conference scoring champ Almond Vosotros and Samboy De Leon to take the top spot in Pool B with victories over San Miguel, 20-19, and Meralco, 18-12.
Platinum Karaoke bounced back from the sorry loss against Ginebra with back-to-back wins against Terrafirma, 17-12, and Sista Super Sealers, 21-15, for second spot in Pool A with a 2-1 record.
Tied at third spot in the same pool are Terrafirma (1-1) and Sista (1-1)
Meralco and San Miguel also barged in the win columns in Pool B with an even 1-1 record. The Bolts, who welcomed back fit-again Tonino Gonzaga, defeated Pioneer Pro Tibay, 21-13, while the Beermen also scored one against Pioneer, 21-13.
NorthPort and Purefoods TJ Giants are locked in second place in Pool C with identical standings of 1-1. The Batang Pier actually downed the Giants, 20-16, before the Giants bounced back with a 21-11 rout of Cavitex.
Still without a win heading to the final six games of the preliminaries on Sunday are Master Sardines (0-3), Pioneer (0-2), and Cavitex.
The top three teams in Pool A and two top teams in Pools B and C will advance to the knockout stage, while the third-placed teams of Pool B and C battle each other for the eighth and last quarterfinals berth.
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