MANILA, Philippines – School honor carries more weight than personal glory for Mapua ace Clint Escamis.
Escamis said he doesn’t mind losing his bid for back-to-back MVP awards as he placed greater importance on steering the Cardinals to their first NCAA title in 33 years.
And Mapua is oh so close to that goal after drawing first blood against St. Benilde in the best-of-three Season 100 finals by way of a decisive 84-73 win on Sunday, December 1.
“I’m okay with not winning MVP as long as I get the championship this year. That is the only thing on my mind,” said Escamis, who captured both MVP and Rookie of the Year plums last season.
Escamis led the Cardinals to a 15-3 record as they clinched the top seed, averaging 15.4 points with 4.0 assists, 3.6 rebounds, and 1.9 steals in the elimination round.
Those numbers, however, don’t seem enough for Escamis to join the company of Moro Lorenzo (Ateneo), Carlos Loyzaga (San Beda), Alvin Patrimonio (Mapua), Eugene Quilban (San Sebastian), Rommel Adducul (San Sebastian), and Allwell Oraeme (Mapua) in the back-to-back MVP club.
Instead, Blazers big man Allen Liwag looks poised to take home the MVP trophy after averaging a double-double of 14.6 points and 11.3 rebounds on top of 2.3 assists and 1.2 blocks.
But Escamis has been putting up MVP numbers since the playoffs started.
He netted a career-high 33 points to go with 4 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals in the semifinals as Mapua gave Lyceum the boot by way of an 89-79 win on November 23.
The weeklong break for the finals hardly cooled down Escamis’ hot hands, with the sweet-shooting guard turning in 30 points with 5 steals and 4 assists in Game 1.
“If I win MVP and we lose, I’m the only one happy. But if we win the championship, it’ll be the whole community,” said Escamis.
Winning the finals opener, though, does not guarantee anything as far as Escamis is concerned, considering the Cardinals were in the same position last year only to fall short of the crown.
Mapua drew first blood against San Beda in the Season 99 finals but lost steam in Games 2 and 3 as its decades-long title drought continued.
On the bright side, Escamis and the Cardinals came out of that finals defeat wiser.
“I feel like it is the level of maturity and the level of composure that this team has,” said Escamis when asked about the difference of the current Mapua squad compared to its crew last year.
“The coaches know that anything can happen. We’re going to be prepared for whatever comes. We’re not going to celebrate until that last buzzer.”
Game 2 is set on Saturday, December 7, at the Araneta Coliseum. – Rappler.com