The Mapua Cardinals looked like it had the game won with 10 seconds left. The EAC Generals had other plans. In the end, though, Mapua eventually escaped, 89-84, in overtime to claim its third straight win in the NCAA Season 102 Men’s Basketball Tournament on Tuesday at the FilOil EcoOil Centre in San Juan City, but not before MJ Raymundo put a genuine scare into the Cardinals.
With Mapua clinging to a 72-70 lead in the closing seconds of regulation, Raymundo inbounded the ball to Jude Bagay, who quickly returned the favor for a game-tying layup with four seconds left, knotting things at 72-all. Cyrus Cuenco had a chance to win it outright at the buzzer, but EAC swarmed him and forced his three-pointer off the mark, sending the game to overtime.
Mapua Takes Control in OT
Mapua didn’t waste any time asserting control once the extra period began. The Cardinals opened with a 9-0 blitz, capped by a Cuenco triple, to push the lead to 81-72 with 2:12 remaining. EAC mounted one more push after that, but the clock simply ran out before the deficit could close.
“During the overtime, I told them na ‘this is just another grinding game for us.’ We needed to move forward from our rookie mistakes ng bagong players namin,” said Mapua coach Chito Victolero. “I need to be patient with these guys because I know there are a lot of rookies. I think it’s a big help for us na meron kaming beterano like Ivan and Cuenco na nag-step up in crunch time.”
The fourth quarter alone was a genuine arm-wrestle. Ivan Lazarte and EJ Castillo traded triples to keep things deadlocked at 60-all, and the lead kept swapping hands before Yam Concepcion split a pair of free throws to give Mapua some room at 66-63 with 3:51 left. Bagay’s free throws kept EAC within range, but Cuenco answered out of a timeout with a triple, then calmly sank both ends of a free-throw trip to restore a six-point cushion at 71-65. Bagay banked in a midrange jumper to cut it to three with 51 seconds left, making it 71-68, before Cuenco’s attempt to put the game away came up short with more than 30 seconds on the clock. Missed threes from Wilmar Oftana and Castillo followed, but Raymundo’s late heroics ultimately kept EAC alive long enough to force overtime.
Cardinals Looking Unstoppable in Crossover Phase
Mapua has now won three straight after dropping its first three games, improving to 3-3, while EAC slipped to 2-4. Cuenco led all scorers with 28 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 assists, while Lazarte added a double-double of 24 points and 10 rebounds. Castillo paced EAC off the bench with 19 points and 3 rebounds, with Oftana adding 12 points and 4 rebounds, and Bagay and Ochavo chipping in 11 and 10, respectively. In all, three of EAC’s five starters finished in double figures.
Both teams return to action Monday, October 12, with Mapua facing the Letran Knights at 3:00 p.m. and EAC taking on the JRU Heavy Bombers at 5:00 p.m.
