MERALCO turned its desire for a maiden hat trick into game and was aptly rewarded with handsome dividends yesterday.
The Bolts, hardly missing the services of veteran big man Alfred Batino, bagged a quarterfinals berth in Leg 5 of the PBA 3×3 Third Conference.
Meralco finished its group phase campaign with a 2-0 sweep of Pool A at the Ayala Malls Manila Bay.
Guard Jeff Manday again waxed hot for the squad which he led to a 21-9 ripping of NorthPort, and later scored a 17-decision over Cavitex.
The quartet of coach Patrick Fran is eyeing a third straight leg crown in the fledgling 3×3 meet after winning three of the first four legs of the conference, including back-to-back victories the last two weeks.
Despite the loss, the Braves still advanced to the next round as they handed the Batang Pier a 21-11 shellacking.
NorthPort bowed out of contention with a 0-2 slate.
The Bolts and Braves are so far the only team that gained berths in the knockout stage as the eight other teams from Pool B and C are still disputing the remaining six quarterfinal slots at press time yesterday.
TNT appeared to have a clear view of reaching the next round after capping its Pool B outings with a best record of 2-1.
The Tripla Giga won their first two tiffs against San Miguel Beer (21-12) and Pioneer Elastoseal (22-20) but was ambushed by Purefoods (21-19) in their final game.
The battle for two quarterfinal berths in Pool C is also wide open with Blackwater, Ginebra, and guest team MCFASolver all notching a victory each.
