Clint Escamis scattered 12 of his 15 points in the fourth quarter as Mapua survived the late rally of Arellano, 77-71, to remain at second in NCAA Season 100 men’s basketball tournament at the Filoil EcoOil Centre in San Juan City on Wednesday, Oct. 2.

The reigning Most Valuable Player stepped on his game in the crucial stretch of the game where he drained a fastbreak layup after a possession turnover from the Chiefs that gave them a 74-71 cushion in the last 16.3 seconds of the game.

That silenced Arellano as Mapua held to its lead with Chris Hubilla splitting his charities and Escamis shooting another jumper that iced the game.

The victory hiked the Cardinals to a 6-2 win-loss tally to remain half a game behind pacesetter College of St. Benilde (6-1).

Escamis, who saw action in 34 minutes, also grabbed five rebounds and dished out eight assists and four steals as Mapua also extended its winning streak to three games after bowing to Lyceum last week.

Hubilla also chipped in 15 points and eight boards, while Marc Cuenco shot 10 points for the Cardinals.

Arellano sparked a 10-1blast to threaten Mapua and cut its 12-point deficit to only three, 72-69, courtesy of Lorenz Capulong, but Escamis got enough support from his teammates to hold on to its advantage with 54.7 seconds to go.

A tough layup from Capulong and an offensive foul from Marc Igliame gave the Chiefs the chance to close the gap, but Escamis was there to rescue the Cardinals.

Arellano, which is coming off an upset win over defending champion San Beda over the weekend, failed to sustain its charge and fell deeper to the bottom standings with a 2-6 card.

Capulong had 19 points, while Renzo Abiera had a career-high 18 points spiked by four treys, but their efforts were not enough to steer the Chiefs to Promised Land.

Later, Jonathan Daileg and Nei Moralejo drained back-to-back treys as Lyceum squeaked past University of Perpetual Help, 64-62.

Down 57-62 with 42 seconds to go, Daileg sank a booming triple off an assist from Renz Villegas to keep the Pirates afloat then Moralejo followed it up with his own three-pointer in the last nine ticks that silenced the Altas.

Perpetual tried to steal the game but missed its chance, forcing Villegas to split his charities in the last 0.6 seconds off a foul from Mark Gojo Cruz.

The win evened Lyceum’s tally to 4-4 to tie with its victims in the middle standings.

Villegas carried the fight throughout for the Pirates with 18 points, five rebounds and seven steals, while Daileg chipped in 10 points. Genesis Aviles took charge in the paint by grabbing 10 rebounds on top of eight points.

Cruz, meanwhile, scored 14 points, while Shawn Orgo and Abid added 13 and 10 points, respectively, in a losing cause for Perpetual.

The scores:

MAPUA 77 – Escamis 15, Hubilla 15, Cuenco 10, Mangubat 9, Concepcion 7, Igliane 6, Fermin 5, Jabonete 4, Bancale 2, Ryan 2, Agemenyi 2.

ARELLANO 71 – Capulong 19, Abiera 18, Camay 11, Ongotan 6, Vinoya 6, Hernal 4, Miller 3, Libang 3, Valencia 1, Geronimo 0, Borromeo 0, Estacio 0, Acop 0, Dela Cruz 0.

Quarters: 19-19; 41-37; 51-54; 77-71.

Second Game

LYCEUM 64 – Villegas 18, Daileg 10, Barba 8, Moralejo 8, Panelo 6, Aviles 5, Gordon 3, Peñafiel 2, Cunanan 2, Montaño 2, Pallingayan 0, Caduyac 0, Culanay 0.

PERPETUAL HELP 62 – Gojo Cruz 14, Orgo 13, Abis 10, Pizarro 8, Pagaran 4, Manuel 3, Boral 2, Nuñez 2, Montemayor 2, Gelsano 2, Sevilla 2.

Quarters: 13-19; 27-32; 43-48; 64-62.