SISTA and Converge booked their spots in the quarterfinals after hacking out crucial wins against separate rivals in the 2023 Batang PBA Thursday at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig.
Sista edged out TNT, 64-58, in the duel of undefeated teams to take the No. 1 seed in Group C of the 12-Under division while Converge secured second seeding in Group C of the 14-Under category with a 66-58 win over Sista.
Peter Sebastian Ibe and Jeron James Herrera tallied 15 and 10 points, respectively, for the Batang Super Sealers, who stayed unbeaten Group C with a 3-0 mark.
TNT picked up its first loss to fall to 2-1, and now need a victory in its last assignment against PBA All Star Dark (0-3) to have a chance of earning a playoff spot in the 12-Under.
The Batang FiberXers finished their campaign at 3-1, behind unbeaten leader TNT (3-0) which secured the top spot in Group C regardless the result of its last match against Sista (1-2).
Sponsored content: John Edward Corbe poured 19 points to show the way for the Batang FiberXers.
In the other 14-Under match, Dwayne Chadwick Nonato fired 26 points as PBA Stalwarts blasted All Star Light with a 113-46 win to keep its slim playoff hopes alive at 2-2.
The Stalwarts' win paved the way for Cavitex (3-0) to seal one of the two quarterfinal seats while hoping for the Red President (2-0) to lose all its remaining matches to make the playoffs.
The All Star Light bowed out of the race with its 0-3 record regardless the result of its last game. (JBU)
The Scores:
Sponsored content: First Game 14-Under Group C
Converge 66 - Corbe 19, Aniano 10, Loza?es 10, Pineda 7, Aquino 6, Dia 6, Lucero 4, Yu 2, Gonti?as 2, Cabarles 0, Buentiempo 0, Sanchez 0, Manalo 0, Esguerra 0, Pajaron 0.
Sista 58 - Getalado 16, De Mesa 7, Sorongon 7, Serrano 5, Vibar 4, Cama?ag 4, Scott 4, Abuso 3, Candare 3, Saquitan 3, Dalaten 2, Maramot 0, Avellano 0, Agoy-agoy 0.
Quartescores: 20-14, 24-32, 41-44, 66-58.
Second Game 14-Under Group D
PBA Stalwarts 113 - Nonato 26, Abellar 18, Hizon 16, Bungar 14, Victolero 12, Pingris 9, Cuevas 8, De Guzman 7, Hernandez 3.
All Star Light 46 - Mariano 10, Manuel 9, Rangasa 7, Rizardo 6, Butron 5, Sarmiento 4 Velasco 3, Lebanan 2, Vasquez 0, Reyes 0, Deocaris 0, Banks 0, Manguino 0, Inumerable 0.
Quarterscores: 31-12, 56-22, 83-29, 113-46.
Third Game 12-Under Group C
Sista 64 - Ibe 15, Herrera 10, Selom 8, Nacu 8, Martinez 7, Santos 6, Cano 4, Fabico 3, Lusung 3, So 0, Gonzales 0, Caraan 0, Rivera 0, Gatbonton 0.
TNT 58 - L. Kaw 23, Tan 11, Dausin 7, Manaloto 6, Sadili 5, Magtaas 2, Alfaro 2, Quiamco 2, Cortez 0, A. Kaw 0, Rieza 0, Malonzo 0.
Quarterscores: 12-21, 23-32, 47-36, 64-58.