Escamis nails game-winner as Cardinals escape Blazers for share of lead

Games Tuesday

(Filoil EcoOil Arena)

11 a.m. - LPU vs EAC

2:30 p.m. - JRU vs UPHSD

MANILA, Philippines -- The Mapua-College of St. Benilde NCAA Season 100 showdown Sunday has all the markings of a championship duel.

It was in majestic display that Clint Escamis capped by the biggest shot of his life as he drilled in a game winning 3-pointer that sealed a 75-73 Cardinals victory the Blazers that forged a tie for No. 1.

Trailing by a point with less than four seconds left, Escamis stole the ball from an off-balanced Allen Liwag and then sprinted like a juggernaut to the other end and unleashed and buried the shot that was heard all over the Filoil EcoOil Arena to snatch the win.

It completed a mighty, epic comeback from 20 points down late in the second quarter that saw Mapua catching up on CSB at No. 1 with a 13-3 record each.

One more for the Cardinals against either the San Sebastian Stags Wednesday at the same San Juan venue and the Jose Rizal University Bombers Saturday at the Cuneta Astrodome in Pasay would clinch Mapua a twice-to-beat edge in the Final Four.

And it was because of the electric guard named Escamis.

“Biggest shot of my career,” said an ecstatic Escamis, the reigning Most Valuable Player. “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 cut that 54-34 deficit — the biggest in the duel— brick by brick to go into the final canto trailing by just three, 63-60.

Somehow, CSB stubbornly clung onto the advantage most of the final period until that fateful stretch in the dying seconds when Escamis went supernova with that gem of a steal and a diamond of a shot.

When it was over, Escamis screamed ecstatically, ran all over the court and celebrated with his teammates as if they had already won the championships.

“I’m gunning for the championship right now,” he said.

The scores:

Mapua 75 – Escamis 26, Mangubat 12, Concepcion 11, Cuenco 8, Hubilla 5, Recto 5, Igliane 4, Bancale 4 Fermin 0, Abdulla 0.

CSB 73 – Liwag 15, Torres 10, Cometa 10, Oli 10, Ynot 9, Sanchez 7, Ancheta 5, Eusebio 3, Cajucom 3, Sangco 1, Ondoa 0, Morales 0, Turco 0.

Quarterscores: 16-28; 39-54; 60-63; 75-73.