MAPUA vented its ire on on a young San Sebastian squad with a 70-49 beatdown to get its third win in Group A of the NCAA Season 101 on Sunday at the Playtime Filoil Center.
On the heels of a shock 75-65 loss to Perpetual Help a few days ago, the defending champions played with a different sense of urgency this time around, especially facing a Stags side who are fresh off a confidence-boosting win over Lyceum in double-overtime just last Friday.
The Cardinals limited the Stags to just six points in the final period, with Ivan Lazarte and EJ Sapasap taking turns in carrying the squad on offense to pull away from these young Stags.
"After nung last game, sa talo namin, siyempre mga beterano na yan e, ang ano [sinasabi] niyan bounce back e. Pero hindi pwedeng sabihin lang nila na bounce back, ang kailangan namin dito, mag-trabaho," Mapua coach Randy Alcantara said.
"Mas maganda ang ball movement namin ngayon. Hinahanap talaga nila yung mas libre pa nilang kasama. Yun ang magandang nangyari at maidagdag namin to [moving forward]."
The Cardinals closed out the game on a 16-2 run, breaking the game wide open after the Stags drew to within seven, 54-47 with eight minutes remaining in the ball game.
Their defense was so airtight during that stretch that the Stags' last basket came came at the 5:23 mark of the quarter.
Ivan Lazarte led the way for the CAdinals with 14 points while Sapasap added 11 points, seven rebounds and three assists.
JC Recto chipped in eight points and seven boards, and Clint Escamis made up for his woeful shooting night (1-of-6) with seven assists, five rebounds and two steals for the noe 3-1 Cardinals.
Ian Cuajao continued his solid rookie run for the STags with 14 points and four assists while Ralph Gabat added 10 as the Stags fell to 1-3
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