One day after his birthday, Clint Escamis gifted Mapua University the top spot in the standings of the NCAA Season 99 Seniors Basketball Tournament after the Cardinals took down Lyceum of the Philippines University 87-83 on Saturday at the Filoil Ecooil Center.
Escamis flirted with a triple-double, dropping 20 points, grabbing nine rebounds, dishing out seven assists, and recording four steals to guide Mapua to the number one spot with a 6-1 record.
At a 77-all deadlock with 37 seconds left in the final quarter, Escamis called his own name. He knocked down a step-back three-pointer off the backboard to take an 85-82 advantage.
Escamis then sealed the game with free throws as Mapua escaped with pole position.
Cardinals head coach Randy Alcantara was grateful to his squad for grabbing the lead. However, he also shared that their strong start to the season could disappear in a second if they let their guard down.
“Pagnagpabaya kami mabilis mawala yan parang kanina yung laman namin. Importante yung dulo so talagang dinadasal ko na healthy yung players kung ano man standings namin,” said Alcantara.
The Cardinals controlled the match for the first three quarters, firing on all cylinders from deep. They hit eight triples in the first half alone and finished shooting 11-of-29 from three-point range.
They led by as much as 17 points in the third quarter after a layup from Bonifacio with 8:22 on the clock gave them a 64-47 lead.
In typical Lyceum fashion, Mapua watched as their lead disappeared in the rest of the second half. The Pirates slowly chipped away at Mapua’s advantage until the two squads found themselves tied at 77-77 with 7:01 left in the quarter after a three-pointer from Shawn Umali.
This led to Escamis’ heroics.
Warren Bonifacio followed Escamis’ lead with 20 points of his own. Paolo Hernandez and Marc Cuenco were also crucial to Mapua’s offense, scoring 15 and 13 points, respectively.
Mapua looks to maintain their hold on the top spot in the standings in their battle against Arellano University on Wednesday at 2:00 PM.
Lyceum dropped back-to-back matches to go down to a 6-2 record, now second in the standings.
John Bravo led the Pirates in scoring with 19 points on an efficient 54.5% shooting from the field. Mclaude Guadana chipped in with 13 points but was held scoreless in the second half.
Enoch Valdez and John Barba had 11 and 10 points, respectively. Umali, in his return to the lineup after a one-game suspension, added 10 points, eight rebounds, three assists, and a block.
The Pirates aim to regain their place on top of the league after their game against Jose Rizal University on Tuesday at 4:00 PM.
The Scores:
MU 87 – Escamis 20, Bonifacio 20, Hernandez 15, Cuenco 13, Soriano 6, Dalisay 6, Asuncion 3, Rosillio 2, Recto 2, Fornis 0, Igliane 0
LPU 83 – Bravo 19, Guadana 13, Valdez 11, Umali 10, Barba 10, Penafiel 8, Cunanan 5, Villegas 5, Montano 2, Moralejo 0, Omandac 0, Saure 0, Aviles 0
Quarterscores: 29-21, 54-44, 75-68, 87-83
