We present an investigation of the magnetic, thermodynamic, and electric transport properties, and the electronic structure of the strongly correlated compounds Ce3Rh4Sn13 and Ce3Co4Sn13. The main goal of this report is to compare the physical properties of both compounds and to explain the abnormal electrical resistivity behavior in Ce3Co4Sn13 above ∼ 160 K, which has not been observed in Ce3Rh4Sn13. We suggest that a possible local distortion of the trigonal Sn2 prisms around Co occurs in Ce3Co4Sn13 below ∼ 160 K, which could change the electronic structure near the Fermi level, and as a consequence, explain the metallic behavior visible in the resistivity above this temperature. We determined experimentally the hybridization energy ∆ between the f -electron and conduction-electron states for both compounds and its influence on the different ρ(T ) behaviors under pressure. The complimentary experimental data allowed us to explain the semimetallic properties of both compounds and the transition between semimetallic and metallic behavior in Ce3Co4Sn13, which is not observed for Ce3Rh4Sn13.