Mapua turned to rookie Chris Hubilla as the Cardinals thumped the Letran Knights, 86-78, on Friday, Oct. 18, to remain at second place in NCAA Season 100 men’s tournament at the Filoil EcoOil Centre in San Juan City.

Hubillia flirted with a triple-double as he unleashed 19 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists to steer the Cardinals to a 9-3 win-loss record.

The win not only duplicated Mapua’s 77-62 victory over the Knights in their first meeting last Sept. 20, but also put them half a game behind league-leading College of St. Benilde Blazers (9-2).

The Cardinals survived three deadlocks and 13 lead changes with John Recto also stepping up with 14 points, six rebounds and three steals, and John Jabonete and Lawrence Mangubat contributing 13 and 10 points, respectively.

It was enough to fill in the void of Marc Igliane, who served his one-game suspension, the scoring struggles of skipper Clint Escamis and the sprained ankle of Marc Cuenco.

Letran absorbed its third straight defeat and slipped to a 6-6 card at solo fifth after playing without main man Jimboy Estrada, who was also banned for one game.

Earlier, San Beda reaffirmed its mastery over University of Perpetual Help with a 57-53 victory to get back on the winning track.

The Red Lions flashed their solid defensive form anchored on Bismarck Lina and Jomel Puno to slow down the Altas and clinched their eighth win against four losses.

The victory somehow erased San Beda’s bitter 64-62 upset loss to Lyceum last Tuesday, Oct. 15, as they outmuscled Perpetual particularly in the last four minutes of the game.

“I know it’s going to be a low-scoring defensive game (against Perpetual), so I just told them that every possession counts,” San Beda coach Yuri Escueta said.

“Especially in this kind of game where both teams play good defense, I told them we have to get all the rebounds and dive for the 50-50 balls,” he added.

Yukien Andrada paced the Red Lions with 21 points, while teammates contributed small yet significant numbers with Bismarck Lina finishing with nine points and six rebounds, Jomel Puno adding eight points and five boards, and Zachary Estacio pouring in all his six points in the crucial last five-minute stretch of the game.

It took time before San Beda finally got its groove back, trailing by 11, 19-8, in the first quarter before limiting Perpetual to only seven points in the second period to grab the 29-26 advantage at the half.

The Red Lions kept their pace then, with Estacio torching the basket including two triples that gave them the 57-50 separation in the last 43.4 seconds of the game.

Perpetual refused to give up the fight with Mark Gojo Cruz retaliating with his own booming trey in the last 37.3 ticks, but the Altas failed to convert baskets in the final possessions.

Gojo Cruz finished with 14 points, six rebounds and three assists, while Jearico Nunez and Christian Pagaran had 11 and 10 points for Perpetual, who felt the absence of Shawn Orgo in the second half after the latter hurt his shoulder late in the second quarter.

The Altas fell to 5-7, just about cellar-dwellers Jose Rizal University, Arellano and San Sebastian at 3-8.

The scores:

First Game

SAN BEDA 57 – Andrada 21, Lina 9, Puno 8, Estacio 6, Calimag 6, Tagle 4, Sajonia 3, Payosing 0, Bonzalida 0, Tagala 0, Songcuya 0, Celzo 0.

PERPETUAL 53 – Gojo Cruz 14, Nuñez 11, Pagaran 10, Abis 7, Boral 4, Manuel 3, Montemayor 3, Pizarro 1, Orgo 0, Gelsano 0.

Quarters: 8-19; 29-26; 44-38; 57-53.

Second Game

Mapua 86 – Hubilla 19, Recto 14, Jabonete 13, Mangubat 10, Bancale 9, Cuenco 7, Escamis 5, Abdulla 4, Concepcion 3, Garcia 2, Ryan 0, Fermin 0.

Letran 78 – Miller 14, Monje 14, Cuajao 13, Montecillo 7, Santos 6, Go 6, Dimaano 5, Tagotongan 5, Jumao-As 4, Delfino 2, Nunag 2, Sarza 0.

Quarterscores: 27-28; 44-44; 66-59; 86-78.