The Philippine National Police Responders completed their dominant show by winning the 2nd UNTV Cup Executive Face-Off title in devastating style on Monday night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Before a huge crowd, the Responders leaned anew on the inside presence of Joel de Mesa to clobber the Ombudsman Graft Busters, 81-53, in their winner-take-all game to rule the tournament undefeated in eight games.
De Mesa, who finished with 17 points, emerged as the tournament MVP.
Backing him up were Israel Dickson, Voltaire Rivera and Joshua Alejanco who combined for 31 points.
PNP set the tone early, racing to a commanding 31-10 lead after 10 minutes of play before practically sealing the deal at the end of the third that saw them take 63-38 advantage.
With PNP’s title win, its chosen charity—PARDSS Foundation International Inc.—received P1 million from UNTV37 Foundation Inc. spearheaded by Dr. Daniel S. Razon.
Ombudsman Provident Fund, the Graft Busters’ charity, got P500,000 while Judiciary Employees Severely Affected By Typhoons & Calamities —the charity of third placer Judiciary receive P250,000.
Emmaus House of Apostolate Inc. —the charity of fourth-placer Senate —got P200,000.
PNP and Ombudsman, which finished 1-2 after the elims, set up a title clash after beating Senate and Judiciary, respectively, in the semis.