Man for man, the Mapua University Cardinals were the heavy underdogs against the Colegio de San Juan de Letran Knights. But don’t ever tell that to Mapua’s super senior Andrew Estrella.
Mapua’s floor general took charge late on, scoring Mapua’s last seven points to lead the Cardinals past their Intramuros neighbors, 78-75, Tuesday evening at the Filoil Flying V Centre in San Juan City.
The biggest shot Estrella nailed was when the game was knotted at 75-all with five seconds left. After a switch forced Letran big man against Jeo Ambohot, the 23-year old crossed him up, knocking down a step-back triple to give Mapua the lead.
“Di ko alam e. Basta tinira ko lang, na-shoot,” Estrella recalled about the out-of-body experience moment he had. “Sabi lang ni coach, kunin ko lang yung bola at akin na yung last shot.”
Letran had a chance to knot things up. Off a time out, Rey Nambatac squared up but his shot from downtown barely hit the rim.
Estrella was clutch for Mapua, scoring on a reverse layup that knotted things up at 73-all with 1:15 left and a lay-up off of a Leo Gabo steal to give Mapua the edge with 43 ticks left. Nambatac was able to tie the game four seconds later with a quick stab.
“Kaya ang taas ng kumpiyansa ko bago ko itira yun,” said Estrella, who finished the game with 18 points, seven rebounds, and seven assists.
Sparking Mapua’s late-game hijack was Leo Gabo. Gabo, who had just served the last game of his suspension stemming from three years ago, knocked down two long triples to cut Letran’s 71-65 lead to just two points with 2:10 left.
Gabo added 12 points, including 3-for-3 from downtown, while JB Raflores finished with a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds.
Jerrick Balanza led five Knights in double-figures with 15 points. Rey Nambatac added 13 markers, while Letran’s prodigal sons Bong QUinto and JP Calvo added 12 and 11 points respectively. Ambohot finished with a double-double with 11 points and 12 boards.
Mapua (1-1) look to build on this win when they take on the Perpetual Altas on their home floor on Thursday, July 20, at 4:00pm. Letran, on the other hand, look to bounce back when they face the EAC Generals on Tuesday, July 8, at 12:00nn.
The Scores:
MU (78) – Estrella 18, Raflores 12, Gabo 12, Bunag 10, Victoria 8, Aguirre 6, Pelayo 5, Nieles 4, Orquina 3.
CSJL (75) – Balanza 15, Nambatac 13, Quinto 12, Ambohot 11, Calvo 11, Taladua 6, Vacaro 4, Bernabe 3, Balagasay 0, Gedaria 0, Pascual 0, Madreza 0
Quarterscores: 17-19, 38-41, 56-61, 78-75.
