FOR most of the preseason, Clint Escamis has been preaching that in no way is Mapua a one-man team – despite him being one of the best players not only in the NCAA, but in all of college basketball.
And in the very first game of Mapua’s title defense in Season 101, the former league MVP proved prophetic.
The Cardinals had to claw their way to a 90-89 double-overtime win over gritty Lyceum in a game where Escamis was basically a non-factor all night long, as he struggled with foul trouble.
READ: Mapua starts title defense with thrilling 2OT triumph over Lyceum
Escamis finished with just eight points on 4-of-15 shooting in just 21 minutes of action after failing to get his rhythm, with three quick fouls in the first 10 minutes of the game.
“Wala ako sa rhythm kasi may iniinda pa 'kong injury, though no excuses naman. Naiilang pa rin ako, kailangan talaga bumawi. Foul trouble din talaga ako,” Escamis bared.
“Every game lagi naming sinasabi, hindi lang naman ito Clint Escamis team, hindi ‘to one-man team. Itong team na ’to, kahit na sino, from player 1 to 15, pwede mag-start, pwede mag-[off the] bench, so ito lumabas sa laro yung tiwala namin sa isa’t-isa at yung kumpyansa namin sa isa’t-isa.”
How deep is your bench, Mapua?
Five players breached double-digits for Mapua, with holdovers JC Recto, Cy Cuenco, and Yam Concepcion all playing like battle-tested veterans for coach Randy Alcantara.
Recto finished with 16 points, nine rebounds and five steals, Cuenco chipped in 14 points, while Concepcion added 13 points, 10 rebounds, and two steals in the pulsating win.
But it was the two newest additions in rookie Earl Sapasap and the returning Cyril Gonzales who truly gave the Cardinals the edge – as Sapasap also finished with 16 points on highly efficient 7-of-10 shooting, while Gonzales bucked a rough shooting night, as he hounded the Pirates' guards all night long, finishing with five steals to go along his 11 markers.
That effort wasn’t lost on Escamis.
“Sa defense, we all know Cyril Gonzales sa mga depensa niya, si EJ Sapasap sobrang slasher niya at nakakapantay siya sa mga [ibang players] as well,” he said, while adding that this close call will only make them better as a team.
“Buti nga na-test kami sa ganitong klaseng laro, double-overtime, kasi magkaka-experience kami at mag-iimprove pa kami.”
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