By Jerome Lagunzad
Game Today
(The Arena, San Juan City)
3 p.m. – Mapua vs LSGH (Jrs)
(Game 3, winner-take-all match)
Defending champion Mapua hopes to live up to its winning tradition while upstart La Salle-Greenhills hopes to clinch its first-ever crown.
So expect nothing less than an all-out brawl today as the Red Robins and the Greenies go at it for the last time in a winner-take-all showdown for the 93rd NCAA juniors basketball title at The Arena in San Juan City.
Tip off is at 3 p.m., with Mapua determined to bag its 22nd overall title and join fellow powerhouse San Beda as the most decorated teams in league history.
La Salle-Greenhills, which made its return to the country’s oldest collegiate league in 1998, is eager to claim what seems to be an elusive jewel in nearly two decades.
Momentum should be on the side of the favored Red Robins, who carved out a 91-81 victory in Game 2, thanks to Clint Escamis’ 25-point explosion, 10 of them coming in their decisive push in the final period.
“We are determined to win everything in Game Three and we will give it our best to bring the title back to Mapua,” said Mapua coach Randy Alcantara, who is expected to pin his hopes on the likes of Escamis, reigning league MVP Will Gozum and Warren Bonifacio.
