NCAA: Mapua bests San Sebastian to conclude Season 98 stint

Mapua Cardinals in the NCAA Season 98 men’s basketball tournament. –NCAA PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—Mapua finished its NCAA Season 98 men’s basketball tournament with a win over San Sebastian, 75-67, at San Juan Arena on Wednesday.

The Cardinals wrapped up their campaign with a 7-11 record, just one win behind the Golden Stags who also played their final game and finished with an 8-10 card.

“I told them, if we wanted to win this game, we had to defend them especially because of their energy. We saw that we were soft and we had lots of lapses on defense, so I asked them to show me if they really wanted to win,” coach Randy Alcantara said. 

Alcantara’s squad limited the Stags to 19 team turnovers and an abysmal 36.2 percent shooting clip as a team.

With the game tied at 62 in the fourth, Adrian Nocum took matters into his own hands for Mapua, launching a three-point basket and a foul and giving Mapua a , 66-62 four-point advantage with 2:59 remaining.

Both teams then exchanged free throws but Paolo Hernandez’s charity stripe shot for the 72-67 lead with 36.3 sticks left iced the game.

Itchie Altamirano launched a step-back triple to inch San Sebastian closer but to no avail, finishing his collegiate stint with a career-high 24 markers. 

Hernandez finished with 22 points, eight rebounds and five assists for the Cardinals while  Nocum and Jasper Salenga finished with 17 and 14, respectively.

Romel Calahat registered a double-double of 13 markers and 15 boards in a losing effort for San Sebastian. 

The Scores:

MAPUA 75 — Hernandez 22, Nocum 17, Salenga 14, Bonifacio 7, Agustin 5, Cuenco 3, Igliane 3, Pido 2, Soriano 2, Garcia 0, Mercado 0, Gamboa 0, Lacap 0.

SAN SEBASTIAN 67 — Altamirano 24, Calahat 13, Are 9, Una 8, Aguilar 4, Villapando 2, Sumoda 2, Escobido 2, Suico 2, Paglinawan 0, Concha 0, Cosari 0.

Quarters: 6-19, 29-32, 46-51, 75-67.