Philhealth sweeps UNTV elims

MANILA, Philippines — Philhealth made key baskets down the stretch to hack out an 81-75 win over House of Representatives and cap a 4-0 sweep in Group B in the UNTV Cup Season 2 last Sunday at Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig.

Jesson Alfeche, Alex Noriega and Ramil Tagupa delivered crucial points as Philhealth survived the loss of a 16-point lead early in the game.

Alfeche finished with 20 points and his layup against Cebu 1st District Rep. Gerald Gullas gave Philhealth an eight-point spread with less than a minute left in the contest.

It was the third straight loss for House, which needs to win against Malacañang in its last outing to earn a chance of advancing into the next round.

Francis Adriano fired 24 points to go with five steals and five rebounds to power Local Government Units to a 102-69 rout of Department of Justice.

Ian Garrido scored 36 points and 17 boards as the Avengers bowed out of contention with their fourth straight defeat in Group A.

Season 1 runner-up Philippine National Police secured the No. 2 spot behind Philhealth with a 93-53 win over Senate.