Escamis lifts Mapua over CSB

MANILA, Philippines — With a defensive gem and the winning three-pointer from Clint Escamis in the last four seconds, Mapua squeezed past St. Benilde, 75-73, to forge a tie in the lead in NCAA Season 100 at the Filoil EcoOil Arena yesterday.

With Mapua trailing by a point, Escamis stole the ball from an off-balanced Allen Liwag and then himself banged in a booming trey as the Cardinals stole the game and caught up with the Blazers at 13-3.

One more win for the Cardinals against either the San Sebastian Stags Wednesday at the same San Juan venue or the Jose Rizal U Bombers Saturday at the Cuneta Astrodome in Pasay would give them a twice-to-beat edge in the Final Four.

And it was because of electric guard Escamis. “Biggest shot of my career,” said the reigning MVP. “I made clutch shots last season but never a game-winner, and never a game-winner with a Steph Curry range.”

That titanic shot was the icing on the cake for Escamis, who fired a game-high 26 points including 10 in the third canto when Mapua started its chase from 20 down.

Later, back-to-the-wall Letran lived for another day with a crucial 75-71 victory over bitter rival San Beda to improve to 8-9.

The semis-bound Lions fell to 10-6.