Mapua University finally snapped its three-game slump as it booked an 85-78 victory over Emilio Aguinaldo College in Season 101 National Collegiate Athletic Association men’s basketball tournament on Tuesday at the Mall of Asia Arena.

Clint Escamis displayed his Most Valuable Player form with a game-high 20 points to lead the Cardinals to their fourth win in eight matches that gave them a share of the second spot in Group A of the preliminaries.

Also getting back on track is College of Saint Benilde, which banked on Allen Liwag’s solid performance down the stretch to pull off a 70-67 win over Lyceum of the Philippines University in the second game.

Liwag tallied 16 points and eight rebounds, including the game-sealing basket in the final stretch to give the Blazers their fifth win in eight games in Group B.

“We needed this win badly, and if we lost to them, it’s going to be a long season,” said Tiu, who also drew 11 markers, seven boards, and a steal from former Lyceum big man Shawn Umali.

Escamis added four rebounds and two assists to round out a performance that boosted his confidence after being held to just two points in their 63-66 loss to Jose Rizal University last Saturday.

He said suffering three straight losses further motivated them, making them realize that they have to work hard if they want to keep the title in their Intramuros campus.

“For me, I think everything has a purpose. We needed to go through that three-game slump and it turned out well,” Escamis said, adding that their slump gave them a chance to reflect and ponder on the things they need to do to regain their winning form.

“We had talks, we did everything, we settled things with our team chemistry and everything clicked.”

Helping Escamis push Mapua out of the hump were Cyril Gonzales and Yam Concepcion, who finished with 14 and 13 points, respectively, while JC Recto flirted with a double-double after tallying 11 points and nine rebounds.

On the other end, the Generals continued their rollercoaster season as they dropped to a 4-5 record in Group B despite the 13-point, six-rebound performance of Brianne Angeles.