By JONAS TERRADO
Pioneer Pro Tibay completed a four-game sweep of Pool A to secure a quarterfinals berth in the second leg of the PBA 3×3 second conference Saturday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Buoyed by the return of Carlo de Chavez and Christian Rivera, the Pro Tibay started with a 19-14 win over the Sista Super Sealers then followed it 21-15 romp of the Master Sardines Fishing Champs.
De Chavez, Rivera, Robin Rono and Gian Abrigo would then stun first leg champion TNT, 21-13, before wrapping up their campaign in pool play by defeating San Miguel Beer, 21-17.
By topping Pool A, Pioneer is assured of the top seed in the quarterfinals of the halfcourt competition and a date with the winner of the knockout game between the third placers in Pool B and C.
The Pro Tibay have never won a leg crown since the league began, falling short of winning it all against the Sista Super Sealers in the third stage of the first conference.
They will try to emerge victorious this time and claim the top prize of P100,000 in Sunday’s knockout rounds at the same venue.
Leg 1 runner-up Meralco and first conference champion Limitless are on top of their respective groups after they won their first two games.
Meralco beat Terrafirma, 18-10, and Platinum Karaoke, 21-16, in Pool C while Limitless prevailed over Barangay Ginebra San Miguel, 20-17, and Cavitex, 21-15.
TNT remains in contention for a second straight leg title with a 2-1 record for second in Pool A.
Before falling short to the Pro Tibay, the Tropang Giga posted 21-20 and 21-17 wins over the Beermen and Super Sealers.
San Miguel and Sista are tied for third at 1-2 while Master Sardines is at 0-2 in Pool A.
Platinum and Purefoods share second spot in Pool B at 1-1 while Terrafirma has a 0-2 slate in the same group while Ginebra and NorthPort hold identical 1-1 slates and Cavitex is dead last in Pool C at 0-2.
