TNT’S title conquest in the penultimate leg last Tuesday should serve the Tripe Giga well in the sixth and final round before the grand finals.
The quartet of coach Mau Belen gained the top seed with a leg to spare, while Pioneer Elastoseal moved to third spot and NorthPort cracked the “Magic 10” after doing well in Leg 5 of the PBA 3×3 Season 3 Second Conference.
The Triple Giga, who returned to the top after missing the fourth-leg podium, bumped up their aggregate to 460 tour points.
The Almond Vosotros-led TNT’s running tally is already beyond the reach of closest pursuer Meralco (320) and the rest, even if they place higher than TNT in next week’s sixth and final leg at Trinoma.
With their silver behind TNT in Leg 5, the Katibays climbed two spots from fifth with 296 points while Leg 4 winner MCFASolver, which placed third last Tuesday, remained in fourth with a close 295.
From third, Cavitex slipped to No. 5 with 285, dragged by its fifth place finish the last time out.
Terrafirma (204) bumped off Blackwater (196) at No. 6, while Purefoods (183) and San Miguel Beer (154) kept their eighth and ninth positions, respectively.
Buoyed by their fourth place finish in Leg 5, the Batang Pier (149) vaulted to No. 10 and sent Barangay Ginebra (128) outside the cutoff line at 11th.
The 11 squads have one last chance on Nov. 20 and 21 to earn precious points and fortify their berths in the 10-team Big Dance set Nov. 27 at Glorietta.
Additionally, the four best-ranked sides will get outright entry to the quarterfinals of the conference final.
