The Rhum Masters pounded the half-hearted stand of the Hotdogs and the undermanned squad found themselves the bewildered third placer at the close of the elims, behind the 7-2 of Mobiline and Red Bull.
Despite playing the entire round minus ace player Eric Menk, Tanduay posted an impressive 6-3 win-loss mark, setting up a quarterfinals matchup with defending champion San Miguel Beer with the twice-to-beat advantage on its side.
Settling for fourth place, Purefoods takes on Alaska Milk in the next round with the crucial privilege also on its side. The two teams actually wound up with similar 5-4 records but the Hotdogs gained the higher ranking on the strength of the win-over-the-other rule.
"With our lineup at nakarating pa rin kami sa Top Three, para na kaming nakakuha ng medal. And now that we’re here, we’ll try to win a trophy," said Tanduay coach Alfrancis Chua.
"San Miguel will be a tough foc, but I think we’ll enjoy a big psychological edge because of the twice-to-beat. Malaking bagay ito," he added.
And Chua is thankful they’re not playing San Miguel until Friday the earliest, saying he needed time to prepare for the Beermen. He also said he heard reports San Miguel is considering replacing import Lamont Strothers.