Mapua Cardinals’ Clint Escamis during the NCAA Season 100 men’s basketball tournament. –NCAA PHOTO

Clint Escamis was blessed with an MVP award in his rookie season with the Mapua Cardinals last year, but fell short—despite his valiant efforts—of winning an NCAA championship.

Escamis would rather have things the other way around as the Cardinals intend to end their championship series with the College of St. Benilde Blazers on Saturday by claiming the historic Season 100 men’s basketball trophy.

“It’s fine even if I don’t become the MVP this season as long as we win the championship,” Escamis said. “This has stuck to my mind even before the season began.”

The awarding ceremony takes place where the top individual performers will be recognized prior to Game 2 of the best-of-three series at Smart Araneta Coliseum.

“It’s okay not to win the MVP back-to-back. I was the only one happy when I won it last year,” Escamis went on. He starred in the Cardinals’ 84-73 win in the series opener last Sunday by scoring 22 of his 30 points in the first half.

That set the tone for the Cardinals as they forced the Blazers to scamper for survival throughout.

But Escamis, a 5-foot-10 guard who owns a wealth of offensive weapons the Blazers have found hard to restrain, is expecting a tougher grind and a more feisty Benilde crew this time up.

When the CSB defense again gangs up on him, he’s banking on JC Recto, Marc Cuenco, Yam Concepcion and rookies Chris Hubilla and Lawrence Mangubat to carry the load, as well as John Jabonete, who was the surprise Game 1 package for the Cardinals.

After the Blazers cut a double-digit deficit down to a point in the third quarter, Jabonete and Jeco Bancale suddenly rained down triples and generated the much-needed offense for the Cardinals.

“The level of maturity and composure this team has is different compared to our team last year,” Escamis explained. “We will be prepared for whatever comes [in Game 2] and we’re not going to celebrate until the final buzzer.’’

They have to be armed to the teeth in facing the 6-foot-6 Allen Liwag, Benilde’s dominant big man and the leading season MVP contender.

The Blazers weren’t lucky in their Game 1 three-point shooting, going just 5-of-21. And that needs to change through veteran guards Tony Ynot, Gab Cometa, Jhomel Ancheta and slashers Mark Sangco and Justine Sanchez who are likewise eager to bounce back and stretch the series to a decider.

While the Blazers’ objective is to stay alive, the Cardinals would love to end a long title drought since 1991 and failing twice to seize the title in the last three seasons.

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“Winning this championship will make the entire Mapua community happybet86, the alumni and students,” Escamis said. “I think that’s way better than getting another MVP.”

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