TNT will be left out of the Leg 2 knockout stage of the PBA 3x3 Season 3.
The Triple Giga ended in a triple-way tie with opening leg winner Barangay Ginebra and Meralco in Pool A with identical 1-1 records.
But last year’s grand slam winner had the lowest total points after the first day of pool play, enabling the Bolts and Kings to take the two quarterfinal berths in their group.
READ: Mission accomplished for Gilas in Euro tour
Meralco had the most number of accumulated points with 36, followed by Ginebra with 35, and TNT with 32.
The Triple Giga, fresh from their stint in the 3x3 World Tour Macau Masters over the weekend, played minus leading scorer Almond Vosotros, and had to make do with just the trio of Samboy De Leon, Gryann Mendoza, and Lervin Flores.
Worse, De Leon even got injured in the game opposite Ginebra, leaving Mendoza and Flores as the only players on the floor for TNT.
It was the first time TNT failed to advance to the quarterfinals since placing ninth in the fifth leg of last year’s Second Conference.
Meanwhile, Leg 1 runner up San Miguel and guest team Wilcon Depot also notched quarterfinal berths in Pool B behind their identical 2-1 records.
The Beermen won their initial outings against Northport (21-9) and Pioneer Elastoseal (21-18), but lost to Wilcon Depot (17-14).
After initially losing to Pioneer (18-12), Wilcon Depot bounce back with back-to-back wins over the Batang Pier (21-15) and the Beermen.
Pioneer (1-1) and Northport (0-2) will dispute the final berth in their group during the final day of pool play on Tuesday morning at the Ayala Mall Circuit.
Cavitex meanwhile, took the first quarterfinal ticket in Pool C after finishing its campaign with a 2-1 slate, following wins over Blackwater (20-15) and Terrafirma (20-18). The Braves’ lone loss came against Purefoods (20-17).
The Smooth Razor (1-1), Titans (1-1), and Dyip (1-2) are all still in the running for the remaining two playoff tickets in their group to be decided following the Blackwater-Purefoods tiff also on Tuesday morning.
Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph
NOTICE ON UNAUTHORIZED AND UNLAWFUL USE, PUBLICATION, AND/OR DISSEMINATION OF SPIN.PH CONTENT: Please be notified that any unauthorized and unlawful use, publication, and/or dissemination of Spin.ph’s content and/or materials is a direct violation of its legal and exclusive rights to the same, and shall be subject to appropriate legal action/s.
