SMB, Meralco 3x3 crews shine

MANILA, PHILIPPINES — San Miguel Beer grabbed the limelight as it stormed to a 2-0 card in Pool B yesterday at the start of the PBA 3x3 sixth leg at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

With Jeff Manday turning in a pair of scorching performances, the Beermen upset Leg 4 winner Purefoods, 22-16, then followed it up with a 21-16 victory over NorthPort for a stellar opening in the two-day leg backed by 1Pacman Party List.

Manday fired 13 points in both outings, shining in his first gig at the Big Dome as he and teammates Bacon Austria, James Mangahas and debuting John Yasa boosted their quarterfinal drive.

The Batang Pier crew of LA Revilla, Mark Olayon, Mike Calisaan and Jeepy Faundo, who earlier kicked off their campaign with a huge reversal over Leg 1 ruler TNT Tropang Giga, 21-15, fell to 1-1.

League-leading Meralco, meanwhile, continued its charge despite missing stalwarts Tonino Gonzaga (pulled hamstring) and Joseph Sedurifa (stomach flu).

Sub Maclean Sabellina marked his maiden stint with eight points to lead Bolts teammates Alfred Batino, Dexter Maiquez and fellow debutant RJ Deles to a 21-11 romp of Ginebra in Pool C.

The Bolts, leaning on Batino’s clutch layup and two free throws in the last 30 seconds, beat the Dyip in the last game of the day, 21-18, for back-to-back wins.

Terrafirma also took off on the right foot in this group, relying on Matt Salem’s booming two-point bomb to prevail over Sista Super Sealers, 21-19.

In Pool A, Karl Dehesa played clutch as Platinum Karaoke outclassed Leg 5 winner Limitless App, 16-11, to show the way.

Dehesa, a 3x3 veteran, fired three of his seven points in the stretch, including the clinching two-ball, as Platinum outscored the Appmasters towards the finish, 5-0, to seal a 2-0 slate.

Platinum earlier claimed its first win without breaking a sweat against injury-hit Zamboanga, which forfeited all its games in Leg 6 after failing to assemble a four-man roster.

Limitless hacked out two victories in-between the setback to Platinum, edging Pioneer Pro Tibay, 21-19, and the Cavitex Braves, 21-16.

TNT’s Almond Vosotros, Lervin Flores, Chris Javier and Martin Gozum were quick to get their bids back on track.

Vosotros, the league’s leading scorer, rifled in 14 to power the Tropang Giga to a masterful 21-9 drubbing of Purefoods (0-2).

Platinum later made it three-in-a-row via a 21-12 spanking of Pioneer (2-2).

Action continues today with the last six games of the preliminaries followed immediately by the knockout rounds. The Top 3 teams in Pool A and the Top 2 of Pools B and C advance to the quarterfinals.