Mapua University's first loss of the season came at the hands of Jose Rizal University and to close out their elimination round campaign, the Cardinals capped it with a win against the same team.
Clint Escamis admitted that the loss to the Heavy Bombers last October 1 served as an early wake-up call to them after opening NCAA Season 99 with a rousing 2-0 win-loss card.
When the two teams met anew to close out their respective regular season runs, the Cardinals made sure to be the victors.
In the process, Mapua also booted out the season's host school.
"Sabi nga ni coach, sila na lang ‘yung team na hindi namin natatalo this season so ‘yun ‘yung motivation namin and nagpapasalamat din kami sa kanila kasi nung time na ‘yun nung first round, lumaki ‘yung ulo namin and wala pa kaming talo," shared the 23-year-old guard.
"Maraming lessons ang natutunan namin doon and they had a really good season din. Wala eh, business is business din talaga."
(Coach said JRU has been the only team we haven't beaten in the season so that was our motivation and we also thank them because during the first round, we became too confident and we haven't had any loss. There were many lessons from that and they really had a good season also. However, business is business.)
Escamis shone against JRU, dropping 25 points on 50 percent shooting from the field alongside four rebounds, four assists, and five steals, but the rookie playmaker almost lost it for the Intramuros crew.
His triple and a free throw off a technical foul on Jonathan Medina sent Mapua to a crucial 76-72 lead with 1:14 left in the fourth quarter before JRU bruiser Joshua Guiab sank both his freebies to cut the deficit to two.
Escamis then committed a turnover before missing two free throw shots to give the Heavy Bombers a golden chance to tie or even win the ballgame, but JL Delos Santos lost the leather.
He again struggled on the charity stripe, splitting his freebies with 3.7 ticks left. Luckily, Guiab missed out on his final triple attempt to give Mapua the win.
The Mapua standout, though, won't dwell on that blunder and stressed his sights are now focused on their Final Four campaign.
"Siguro ayon ‘yung mga breaks of the game. I had that shot na before, ‘yung mga crucial shots sa free throw pero sometimes talaga, kahit mag-practice ka nang magpractice, sasablay pa rin," he said.
"Pero nando’n pa rin ‘yung kumpyansa at confidence ko. Onto the next, Final Four."
(Those are probably just breaks of the game. I had a shot like that one before, crucial free throws but sometimes, even if you practice, you can still miss. My confidence is still there. Onto the next, Final Four.)
—JKC, GMA Integrated News
