PAF, Meralco dispute Shakey’s semis berth

CAGAYAN province tries to extend its winning streak to 11 matches even as Air Force and Meralco collide for the last semifinal spot in the 89th NCAA basketball tournament at Filoil Flying V Arena in San Juan.

The Lady Rising Suns, two days removed from another scintillating five-set victory, are heavy picks to roll past Philippine National Police in the first match at 2 p.m., before the Air Force-Meralco battle.

The Air Women, with a 5-5 record, are looking to end a three-game slide and keep a firm hold of the No. 4 spot.

But the Power Spikers, who tote a 3-6 card, are inspired by their form last Friday when they pushed the Rising Suns to the limit in a five-set loss.

Meralco, which dropped its first two games of the quarterfinal round, needs to sweep its three remaining matches and hope that Air Force doesn’t go beyond five wins to stand a chance of making the next phase.

The Rising Suns showed steely resolve in surviving Smart-Maynilad in five sets last Sunday.

The Lady Patrollers are nursing slim hopes of going past the quarterfinals. Cedelf P. Tupas