Mapua University delivered the early blows before hanging tough down the stretch to eke out a 68-63 win over San Beda University in Game 1 of their Season 99 National Collegiate Athletic Association men's basketball tournament best-of-three finals series yesterday at the Mall of Asia Arena.

Most Valuable Player and Rookie of the Year frontrunner Clint Escamis was simply impressive, especially in the crucial stretch, as the Cardinals took a 1-0 series lead that puts them a heartbeat away from winning their first title in 32 years.

The Cardinals have a chance to snap their three-decade drought in Game 2 on Sunday at the same Pasay City venue.

But before stepping on the doorstep of history, Mapua had to get rid of the gritty and very determined San Beda squad, which had won six straight games heading into the championship series.

"Of course, Sam Beda is a tough team. They're here in the finals for a reason and they won't just easily back down. We just reminded the team to stay composed and sustain our lead," said Escamis, who played the role of a hero when Mapua's juniors squad — the Red Robins — emerged victorious in 2016 before transferring to University of the East in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines. Now, Escamis is back with the Cardinals to deliver his promise of leading them to the title.

"Even though our lead shrank, we were still able to stay composed and execute our plays."

True enough, beating San Beda wasn't easy.

After erecting a 59-43 lead in the third quarter off Jopet Soriano's free throws, Mapua found itself in trouble as San Beda woke up from a deep slumber and started to flaunt its heart of a champion.

Oliver Tagle nailed a pair of charities to cap a 15-5 rally that put the Red Lions dangerously closer, 63-66, in the final 57 seconds.

But instead of getting rattled against their foes who are being mentored by some of the country's brightest basketball minds in Yuri Escueta, Norman Black and Boyet Fernandez, the Cardinals refused to quit with Escamis calmly sinking his charities in the final 8.5 seconds to seal the victory.

Escamis finished the night with 18 points, six rebounds, two assists and three steals while veteran Paolo Hernandez dropped 16 markers and Ryle Rosillo chipped in 15 points for the Cardinals, who locked themselves up in the gym during their long break in preparation for the biggest game of their collegiate careers.

"Our training was intense. We had a long break so we gave our all in training. We ran and the coaches focused on our conditioning," said Warren Bonifacio, who played with Escamis and Hernandez under their current head coach Randy Alcantara in leading the Red Robins to a juniors title against, interestingly, San Beda seven years ago.

"We are competitive in training and never went easy on one another. That's why we gained chemistry and confidence."

James Payosing had a double-double game of 14 points and 12 rebounds for the Red Lions, who are expected to storm back in Game 2 on Sunday to forge a winner-take-all encounter.