THE next target for Mapua is the second “100.”
That’s simply because Mapua has just won the 100th season of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament.
It’s a feat to crow about.
It’s like a badge of honor that’s been won on a battlefield where only the bravest, fittest, survive.
It’s like one hundred years of almost everything in sports has been plucked: patience, perseverance, perspiration.
Anytime, it is simply a milestone worth cherishing.
May I, therefore, state the obvious: To achieve a championship on the 100th year of the tournament’s founding is a crowning glory deserving of bliss almost without limit.
Mapua has been truly well rewarded in victory after being in pain for losing the crown twice in the last three years — the last was in 2023 after winning Game 1 of their best-of-three finals against San Beda.
“This is truly sweet redemption,” said Clint “Eastwood” Escamis, who fell short in leading Mapua last year after winning the Rookie-MVP honors. “All our hard work have finally paid off.”
Escamis starred again on Saturday, Dec. 7, 2024, bucking crippling leg cramps to nail a three to give Mapua a 16-point, 82-66 lead with 4:14 left to play.
Saint Benilde’s last-ditch effort to survive was inching to within 79-87 — but only 48 ticks remained.
A blazing 7-3 windup by Mapua gave the Cardinals a final 94-82 Game 2 victory for a 2-0 sweep of the Finals before a jam-packed crowd at the Smart Araneta Coliseum that included Benny Cheng.
It was Cheng who scored the winning shot in the last five seconds for Mapua’s 91-90 triumph against San Beda in the 1991 NCAA championship.
Randy Alcantara, Mapua’s winning coach this year, was Cheng’s teammate.
“We were just very hungry to win a title again and we are just too happy we did it,” said Alcantara, whose win snapped a 33-year title drought for Mapua.
And what was the second target of “100” again for Mapua?
Well, since Mapua was founded in 1925, next year would mean the university’s 100th anniversary.
What more motive will the Cardinals need to nab back-to-back titles next year?
They have the tools for it.
Escamis will still be around, and so is Chris Hubilla, who is this year’s Rookie of the Year. Thus, Mapua’s core will still be present next year, including Lawrence Mangubat, JC Recto, and Cyrus Cuenco.
Hear! Hear!