MANILA, Philippines — TNT Triple Giga swept Pool D to gain an outright quarterfinal berth in the men's division of Asia Tour 3x3 on Saturday at SM Mall of Asia Music Hall.
The multi-time PBA 3x3 champions escaped the towering The Performance Lab, 21-15, to be one of the first four teams to advance in the final eight.
Samboy de Leon caught fire with his six points built on two deuces before Beninese big man Raoul Odou sealed the deal with an undergoal stab with 2:34 to spare.
It was a huge followup for TNT after earlier clipping Harimau Malaysia B, 21-13, to be the only Filipino team to go unbeaten in its group.
VN Red & Gold, Harimau Malaysia A, and Rising Star were the other unbeaten teams which booked outright quarterfinal tickets in this tourney which has SM as venue partner, Smart as broadcast partner, and Wilson as official gameball, with Heritage Hotel, Fiber Kinetics, Gatorade, Healthy & Pure Brand Water, Center for Culinary Arts, and Spurway Enterprises as sponsors.
The Vietnamese ruled Pool C after a 19-12 win over Singapore Lion and a close 21-18 escape from Cavitex Braves; Harimau A dominated Pool A with a 21-8 rout over Zamboanga Valientes and a 22-11 blowout of Gameville; and the Malaysian youth crew Rising Star stunned Happy Hotels, 20-15, and Demigod, 21-13, to reign Pool B.
The knockout quarterfinal games start at 2 p.m. on Sunday.
Harimau A will take on Cavitex, which took down Demigod, 19-18; TNT will face Happy Hotels, which trounced Singapore Lion, 20-12; VN Red & Gold will meet Zamboanga Valientes, which clipped Harimau B, 21-16; and Rising Star collides with The Performance Lab, which blasted Gameville, 21-10.
Over in women's action, VN Red & Gold showed its pedigree and topped Pool A also on Saturday.
The silver medalists in the last Southeast Asian Games leaned on the Truong twins to fend off Philippine side Uratex Dream, 19-17, and complete a three-game sweep.
Kaylynne Truong drained eight points while sister Kayleigh produced six as the Vietnamese survived Kaye Pingol's 11.
VN Red & Gold earlier escaped Harimau Malaysia A, 16-14 in overtime and clipped Uratex Tibay, 16-11, in pool play.
Despite the loss, Uratex Dream still got a semifinal ticket with its 2-1 win-loss record after beating sister team Uratex Tibay, 22-17, and a thrilling 20-19 win over Harimau A.
It will take on Pool B leader Sniper Thailand which got a 3-0 record after victories over Harimau B, 22-17; Singapore Lioness, 21-8; and Discovery Perlas, 18-13, thanks to the superb efforts of Supavadee Kunchuan.
Harimau B got the last semis ticket in this eight-team field. The Malaysian crew found itself on a three-way tie for second in Pool B with identical 1-2 cards with Discovery Perlas and Singapore Lioness but had the superior points scored to catch the last bus to the final four.
Harimau B will take on VN Red & Gold in the semifinals with the women's knockout games starting at 2:30 p.m.