The Mapua Cardinals and Clint Escamis, who sank a buzzer-beating triple to win the game, celebrate after stunning top seed College of St. Benilde Blazers in the NCAA Season 100 men’s basketball tournament.–NCAA PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines–Clint Escamis is no stranger to pulling the Mapua Cardinals out of a ditch and leading his team to victory.

Last season’s rookie-MVP sank a miracle three at the buzzer, lifting the Mapua Cardinals in an epic 75-73 win over the College of St. Benilde Blazers on Sunday in the NCAA Season 100 men’s basketball tournament.

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Escamis picked it up in a wild scramble for possession and sped to the other end before launching the triple from way out for the game-winner that sent the entire Filoil EcoOil Arena reverberating in a frenzy.

READ: NCAA: Streaking Mapua beats Perpetual to boost twice-to-beat bid

‘SOBRANG SPEECHLESS’

Mapua’s Clint Escamis talks about his game-winner over league leader College of St. Benilde.

The Cardinals ended up winning, 75-73, to improve to 13-3. #NCAASeason100 @INQUIRERSports pic.twitter.com/b2Z0LiiLqm

— Rommel Fuertes Jr. (@MeloFuertesINQ) November 10, 2024

“I grabbed the possession, looked up at the clock and saw there were four seconds left. There was a defender approaching, so I decided to take the shot,” said Escamis after the Cardinals clawed their way from 20 points down in the first half.

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“So far, it was the biggest shot of my career,” added the Mapua team captain, who fired 26 points, highlighted by three triples, on top of five assists, four rebounds and a steal.

The Cardinals’ win No. 13 tied them with the Blazers at the top as they look to clinch a twice-to-beat edge in the Final Four with two games remaining in the elimination phase.

They’ll close out the second round against the Jose Rizal University Heavy Bombers and the San Sebastian Stags, two squads already out of contention in the semifinal.

Escamis led Mapua’s comeback in the third, hitting eight straight points, including a pair of threes that pulled them within five.

Yam Concepcion scored in transition and the Cardinals finally seized the upper hand on a drive by Cyrus Cuenco, 61-60, before Allen Liwag put order on CSB’s floor.

READ: NCAA: Mapua escapes Lyceum on Lawrence Mangubat’s heroics

The Cardinals found it hard to contain the 6-foot-6 Liwag around the rim, allowing the Blazers to regain control.

Liwag scored seven of the Blazers’ 10 points in the fourth and Tony Ynot’s putback off an Ian Torres miss gave them the 73-72 edge prior to Escamis’ heroic act.

“It was God,” said Mapua coach Randy Alcantara, speechless for several seconds during the post-game interview.

“Clint, he always takes those kinds of shots. He bailed us out several times in the past and Mapua is lucky to have a player like him,” added Alcantara.

Liwag was a dominating figure inside, pacing the Blazers with 15 points, 13 rebounds, five blocks and three assists while Gab Cometa and Torres added 10 points each.

The scores:

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

ST. BENILDE 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