THE WAIT IS OVER: Mapua sweeps Saint Benilde, lifts NCAA crown

It took 33 years but Mapua University is finally back on top of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).

The Cardinals made sure there won’t be any setbacks this time as they carved out a 94-82 victory over College of Saint Benilde in Game 2 of the NCAA Season 100 men’s basketball finals at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

It was a surreal moment for Mapua as it finally avenged its finals defeat last year at the hands of San Beda University.

What made Cardinals’ sixth NCAA crown even sweeter was that the school will be celebrating its centennial in January next year.

Mapua head coach Randy Alcantara was on cloud nine after being on the losing end for two years.

“We just showed how hungry we are to win the title,” said Alcantara, who drew 19 points from Marc Cuenco.

“We finally got this after three tries,” added Alcantara, who was a part of the last Cardinals crew that bagged the title in 1991.

Cuenco’s jumper with 4:54 left in the second quarter capped a 13-4 run by Mapua for a 37-27 lead and never looked back.

A triple from Finals Most Valuable Player Clint Escamis with 4:16 left in the fourth quarter gave the Cardinals their biggest lead of the game, 82-66, as they marched their way to their sixth NCAA crown.

Mapua buried 10 triples and scored 36 bench points.

Defensively, the Cardinals had 10 steals and forced the Blazers to commit 20 turnovers.

Rookie Lawrence Mangubat scored 17 points behind a 4-of-7 shooting clip while JC Recto had 15 points.

Justine Sanchez almost had a double-double game with 24 points and nine rebounds as Saint Benilde lost its second finals under head coach Charles Tiu.

Tiu admitted they had a chance to win it all this year but acknowledged Mapua as being the better squad.

“It’s disappointing because I felt we had a chance to win it. I felt we were as good as Mapua,” Tiu said.

“Give them credit — they really played when it mattered. Escamis, (Marc) Cuenco, and their other guys stepped up.”

Before the hostilities began, Blazers big man Allen Liwag was named as the MVP for Season 100 after garnering 52.38 Player Average Value.

Liwag was also named as the Defensive Player of the Year and was part of the Mythical Team along with Escamis, John Barba of Lyceum of the Philippines University, Tristan Felebrico of San Sebastian College and teammate Tony Ynot.

The transferee from Emilio Aguinaldo College was also part of the Defensive Team that has Felebrico, Lorenz Capulong of Arellano University, Wilmar Oftana of EAC and Kevin Santos of Letran College.

Chris Hubilla of Mapua took both the Freshman and Rookie of the Year honors while Capulong took home the Most Improved Player award.

The scores:

MAPÚA (94) — Cuenco 19, Escamis 18, Mangubat 17, Hubilla 15, Recto 9, Igliane 8, Bancale 6, Garcia 2, Concepcion 0, Fermin 0.

SAINT BENILDE (82) — Sanchez 24, Ynot 17, Liwag 14, Sangco 7, Oli 7, Torres 5, Ancheta 4, Ondoa 2, Eusebio 2, Cometa 0, Cajucom 0.

QUARTERS: 24-23, 45-37, 66-56, 94-82.