Mapua asserted its dominance and downed Arellano, 75-69, to sweep the second-round eliminations and clinch the No. 1 semifinal seeding in NCAA Season 100 men’s basketball at the Cuneta Astrodome in Pasay City on Saturday, Nov. 16.

The Cardinals dictated the pace throughout, not letting the Chiefs lead by a single point as they finished the elims with a 15-3 win-loss record.

With the top seeding and the twice-to-beat bonus, Mapua arranges a Final Four date with fourth-ranked Lyceum (10-8). The other semis pairing pit No. 2 College of St. Benilde (14-4), which also boasts of a twice-to-beat advantage, against defending champion and San Beda.

The Red Lions are playing the Emilio Aguinaldo College Generals at press time, but will still come out with the third seeding regardless of the outcome of the game.

Mapua coach Randy Alcantara lauded his stalwarts not only in this game, but in their overall performance in the two-round elims.

“Trinabaho nila yung season na to kaya andito kami sa top,” said Alcantara, whose last defeat came at the hands of San Beda in overtime, 76-69, last Oct. 8.

“Pero syempre hindi pa dito natatapos. Mas kailangan pa naming pagbutihin yung preparation sa Final Four. As much as possible, doble or triple pa gawin naming effort,” he added.

Six-four bruiser Chris Hubilla and reigning Most Valuable Player Clint Escamis joined forces in steering the Cardinals with 12 points apiece while collaring a combined 14 rebounds and dishing out six assists.

Marc Cuenco also delivered with 11 points, three boards and four assists.

Mapua set the tone early with a commanding 22-10 first-quarter lead and held on to its double-digit edge after three quarters, 57-44.

Arellano briefly threatened in the last 3:21 of the game when it unleashed an 8-1 blast to cut a 57-67 deficit to only three, 65-68, but that turned out to be its last stand as Mapua held on to its lead until the final buzzer.

Ern Geronimo scored 15 points, while Tmac Ongotan and Lorenz Capulong had 13 and 12 points, respectively, in a losing cause for the Chiefs, who finished the season with a 7-11 card at joint seventh to eighth places.

The scores:

MAPÚA 75 – Hubilla 12, Escamis 12, Cuenco 11, Recto 8, Garcia 8, Mangubat 7, Concepcion 6, Bancale 5, Igliane 3, Jabonete 3, Abdulla 0, Fermin 0.

ARELLANO 69 – Geronimo 15, Ongotan 13, Capulong 12, Hernal 10, Borromeo 7, Camay 3, Miller 3, Vinoya 2, Abiera 2, Rosalin 2, De Leon 0, Estacio 0, Espiritu 0, Libang 0.

Quarters: 22-10; 34-24; 57-44; 75-69.