Paolo Hernandez and Clint Escamis caught fire from beyond the arc to power Mapua over College of St. Benilde, 78-67, and march into the NCAA Season 99 men's basketball finals on Tuesday, Nov. 28, at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.

Hernandez came off the bench and fired 22 points, while MVP race frontrunner Escamis added 21 as the two engineered a 14-2 run in the waning minutes that slammed the door on the Blazers and earned themselves a return ticket to the finals after two years.

Mapua now awaits the winner between the twice-to-beat Lyceum and San Beda who are battling it out as of press time.

Mapua head coach Randy Alcantara stressed that they needed to double their effort against CSB despite holding a twice-to-beat advantage.

“Lalo kaming nag-push at lalo kaming nagtiwala at dumisiplina do’n sa depensa namin,” Alcantara said.

“Team effort, teamwork and trust, na sana madala namin hanggang finals,” he added.

The Taft-based Benilde actually found its rhythm midway of the final period with Migs Oczon completing an and-1 play to pull his team to the driver's seat, 65-64.

Hernandez, who had a total of four three-pointers, then spoiled the rally with key baskets that broke the hearts of the Blazers.

Escamis also drilled in four triples that went with eight rebounds, four assists and two steals while Marc Cuenco chipped in 10 points.

Oczon topscored with 17 while graduating Miggy Corteza backstopped him with 14 in a losing effort.

The scores:

Mapua 78- Hernandez 22, Escamis 21, Cuenco 10, Bonifacio 9, Soriano 6, Rodillo 4, Recto 3, Asuncion 3, Igliane 0, Fornis 0, Dalisay 0

CSB 67- Oczon 17, Corteza 14, Carlos 10, Gozum 9, Sangco 5, Mara 5, Turco 3, Arciaga 2, Marcos 2, Nayve 0, Cajucom 0, Marasigan 0, Davis 0

Quarterscores: 14-18; 34-37; 56-55; 78-67