Lawrence Mangubat found the perfect time to wax hot from beyond the arc, helping Mapua University avert collapse against Lyceum of the Philippines University, 69-68, in the NCAA Season 100 on Tuesday.
The lefty rookie, who scored a team-high 16 points in the game, buried the game-winning triple off a pass from Clint Escamis as the Cardinals improved to 11-3 despite wasting a 16-point lead in the third while also extending their winning streak to five.
More importantly, the Cardinals have booked a Final Four spot while also giving league-leading De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde the semis ticket.
The Pirates, meanwhile, were dealt their third straight loss to fall to a 6-8 hole.
"'Yung first option ng play namin is para kay Cyrus [Cuenco] 'yun then 'yung second option sa akin. Eh open na open [ako] kaya hindi ko na sinayang 'yung opportunity," Mangubat said.
"Back sa juniors [division], nagagawa ko na 'yung mga gano'n na shots pero iba na sa seniors ngayon kaya grabe talaga 'yung preparation ko dito."
[The first option was for Cyrus then the second option was for me. But I was wide open so I didn't let the opportunity pass... Back in the juniors, I was able to make those kind of shots but it's different in the seniors so I really had to prepare a lot to do it on this level.]
Mapua went on a scoring spree in the third period with Mangubat firing two of his four triples while Escamis and Cuenco also knocked down a three-pointer each as they zoomed to a 51-35 lead.
But the Pirates retaliated with the backcourt duo of Renz Villegas and the returning skipper Greg Cunanan making Mapua pay with their hustle and offense.
A Cunanan layup knotted the game at 55-all before Villegas calmly sank three free throws after drawing a foul from JC Recto with 37.1 seconds left, sending LPU to its first taste of lead at 66-64.
But Mangubat took over in the clutch, first sinking a difficult long two to force another deadlock at 66-all before hitting the big time triple over the defense of Jonathan Daileg with 4.5 ticks to go to carry Mapua to the victory.
LPU tried to answer back, but Daileg fired blanks in his final jumper attempt.
Mangubat also posted five rebounds and two assists while Chris Hubilla, who fouled out with still 2:16 left in the game, tallied 14 markers, two boards, and one dime.
Veterans Cuenco and Escamis chipped in 11 and 10 points apiece.
Villegas paced the skidding LPU with 22 points, four rebounds, two assists, and one steal while Gyle Montaño added nine markers.
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—JMB, GMA Integrated News
