Mapua’s Clint Escamis in Game 1 of the NCAA Season 100 men’s basketball Finals against College of St. Benilde.–NCAA PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines–No strangers under the dazzling atmosphere of the Finals, the Mapua Cardinals are hell-bent driven to finally make it count.

Clint Escamis again sizzled that left the College of St. Benilde Blazers thunderstruck, leading the Cardinals to the cusp of capturing the NCAA Season 100 men’s basketball trophy with an 84-73 victory on Sunday.

“What we saw in our last game against them was aggressiveness could win us the championship,” said Escamis after erupting for 22 of his 30 points right in the first half that put the Blazers on chase mode throughout.

Forcing the Blazers to fall into a heap of turnovers, the Cardinals never wavered after seizing control early, ending up with 19 steals built on pure grit and hustle, five of them courtesy of the reigning season MVP Escamis.

JC Recto came off the bench and helped keep the Blazers under control, finishing with 15 points while Chris Hubilla hounded the 6-foot-6 Allen Liwag all game long and had nine points and nine rebounds despite his height disadvantage.

The Cardinals are caught in the same scenario as last season when they seized the best-of-three championship series opener only to squander their title bid against the San Beda Red Lions.

“It feels good to get the first game, but our job is not yet finished. I learned a lot (from our failed bid) last year that you don’t win in Game 1,” said Escamis.

There were signs of breaking down in the third quarter when the Blazers pulled within 44-43 on Liwag’s incursion, but the Cardinals, in their third championship appearance in four seasons, have already gotten used to the pressure in the Finals.

Second-stringers Jeco Bancale and John Jabonete rose to the occasion, dousing the Blazers’ fire each time the latter mounted a comeback.

Recto drilled a three and Jabonete’s own triple coupled with a drive that sliced the lane pushed them 13 up in the final three minutes and the Cardinals held sway the rest of the way.

“You cannot win a championship with just one player, so it’s really a team effort. We learned from past games that no lead is safe,” said Escamis.

Liwag had 18 points and 14 rebounds in a fighting effort to match the feisty Cardinals and veteran guard Gab Cometa added 13 for the Blazers, who are looking to reset the series in Game 2 on Saturday also at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

“One more game. I always remind my teammates what we’ve gone through after the Finals last year. Now, we are here and this is our chance to bounce back,” said Escamis.

MAPUA 84 – Escamis 30, Recto 15, Hubilla 9, Mangubat 8, Jabonete 8, Cuenco 4, Concepcion 4, Bancale 3, Igliane 3, Ryan 0, Abdulla 0

COLLEGE OF ST. BENILDE 73 – Liwag 18, Cometa 13, Ancheta 10, Sangco 9, Sanchez 9, Ynot 7, Oli 3, Torres 2, Eusebio 2, Morales 0

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Quarterscores: 26-20, 42-37, 57-48fb777, 84-73

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