By ANGELO JACINTO
PAOLO Hernandez rediscovered his touch while Clint Escamis remained in top form as Mapua booked the first ticket to the NCAA Season 99 men's basketball finals after outlasting College of St. Benilde 78-68 last Tuesday at the Mall of Asia Arena.
Hernandez scored 11 points in the pay-off period, spearheading a late 14-2 rally that finally took the fight out of the Blazers after a tightly contested first 36 minutes.
The win sent the Cardinals back to the finals two seasons after their showdown with the Letran Knights in the NCAA Season 97 finals, marking an impressive bounce back from a forgettable Season 98 which saw them win just seven games.
Now they await the winner of the match between the second-seeded Lyceum and San Beda on who they’ll face in this season’s championship.
“Credit din sa St. Benilde na maganda ‘tong game ngayon, hindi ibibigay sa 'min na ganun kadali, pero siyempre alam namin kung anong gagawin namin, paano kami magiging consistent with the help of these two veterans (Hernandez and Escamis) nagawa namin,” Mapua coach Randy Alcantara said.
“Pinaka-importante dito siyempre yung defense din namin nung fourth quarter, especially against [Migs] Oczon.”
It was a nip-and-tuck affair between the two teams, with the Blazers still up 65-64 down to the final 4:41 minutes of the game.
But Hernandez kickstarted that backbreaking 14-2 rally to close the game, drilling a tightly contested three to give the Cardinals the lead back, and for good.
The Cardinals buckled down on defense, holding the Blazers without a field goal in that stretch while Jopet Soriano and Mark Cuenco hit crucial baskets put the Blazers away.
Struggling to find consistency with his touch for mucy of the season, Hernandez found the perfect time to break out as he finished with 22 points while going 4/9 from beyond the arc. He also had four assists and three steals to his name.
Escamis continued his brilliant form with 21 points, eight rebounds, four assists and two steals as Cuenco added 10 points, five rebounds and five assists for the Cardinals.
Oczon paced the Blazers with 17 points as Miggy Corteza added 14 points and eight rebounds but that wasn’t enough to salvage a season marred by inconsistencies.
Last year’s MVP Will Gozum once again had a performance he'd much rather forget, scoring only nine points on just seven shots the final game of his collegiate career.
The scores:
Mapua 78 - Hernandez 22, Escamis 21, Cuenco 10, Bonifacio 9, Soriano 6, Rosillo 4, Recto 3, Asuncion 3, Igliane 0, Fornis 0, Dalisay 0
St. Benilde 67 - Oczon 17, Corteza 14, Carlos 10 Gozum 9, Sangro 5, Mara 5, Turco 3, Arciaga 2, Marcos 2, Nave 0, Cajucom 0, Davis 0, Marasigan 0
Quarters: 14-18, 34-37, 56-55, 78-67
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