Defending champion Armed Forces of the Philippines and Senate pulled off close wins against their respective quarterfinal rivals to complete the semifinal cast in the 3rd UNTV Cup held over the weekend at Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig.
The AFP Cavaliers leaned on the heroics of Rolando Pascual to eke out a 63-59 win over the Philippine National Police Responders and arrange a best-of-three series against top seeded Malacañang starting this Sunday.
The Senate Defenders, on the other hand, drew an inspired performance from Joe Andrew Garcia to outlast the Department of Justice Boosters in overtime, 80-78. They will next face the second-seeded Judiciary Magis.
Both AFP and Senate must beat their higher seeded rivals twice to earn a finals berth.
The 6-foot-3 Pascual scored four points in the final two minutes to complete their comeback. Pascual finished with 16 points.