By Jerome Lagunzad
Game Tuesday
(Smart-Araneta Coliseum)
1 p.m. – LSGH vs Mapua
Mapua won’t be the defending champion for nothing.
The Red Robins showed steely nerves down the stretch and got back at La Salle-Greenhills, 91-81, yesterday to drag the Greenies to a sudden-death showdown for the 93rd NCAA juniors basketball crown at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.
With reigning league MVP Will Gozum fouling out barely a minute into the final period, veteran Clint Escamis took matters into his own hands as he banged in 10 of his 25 points, including back-to-back layups that kept Mapua’s head above waters.
More importantly, the Red Robins bounced back from a 74-68 in the opener last week, kept themselves on track for a title repeat and forced the Greenies to a winner-take-all showdown on Tuesday also at the Big Dome.
“I just told them to stay aggressive,” said Mapua coach Randy Alcantara after his wards allowed La Salle-Greenhills to fight its way back and threaten within 81-86 off a Makoy Marcos triple with 83 seconds to go.
Good thing for Alcantara, there was Escamis to save the day as he made two clutch lay-ups in a span of 31 seconds that helped the Red Robins restore order and eventually brought the resurgent Greenies down to their knees.
“They tried to put a big man defender against me so I just took full advantage of my quickness and speed when I attacked the basket,” said Escamis, who also collected four rebounds, as many assists, four steals and one block, doing enough to fill the void left by Gozum.
The Red Robins’ top offensive option groped for form for the second straight time, coming up with just 10 points, six rebounds and a block before incurring his fifth and final personal foul with 9:30 left to play and the game still hanging in the balance.
MAPUA 91 – Escamis 25, Bonifacio 18, Jabel 17, Goum 10, Garcia 8, Enriquez 6, Lacap 4, Dennison 3, Ramos 0, Sarias 0, Socias 0.
LSGH 81 – Cagulangan 16, David 12, Marcos 12, Lepalam 10, Mosqueda 9, Perez 9, Sangco 5, Morales 4, Lao 4, Belgica 0, Pedrosa 0, Dela Cruz 0, Cruz 0.
Quarters: 25-19, 55-46, 67-67, 91-81.