Clint Escamis remains the heart and soul of Mapua—on an off night or not.
The former Rookie MVP hasn’t quite looked like himself in Mapua University’s past five games, managing just 28 total points in a stretch where the Cardinals dropped four of those outings.
He also struggled to get his shots up, attempting only 42 field goals over that five-game stretch.
But the graduating guard knew the amount of work he had been putting in behind the scenes, showing up every day even when no one was watching. That's why he never lost trust that he would eventually rediscover his form.
"Syempre trust na lang sa hard work ko, ‘yun naman talaga puhunan ko. Syempre ‘pag magpapa-down ka lang, lalo kang mababaon," Escamis said.
"Samahan mo ng dasal at ng hardwork and ayun na. Kahit ano, kahit ilang games pa ‘yan magbubunga ‘yan. Proven and tested na ‘yun."
(Of course, I just trust in my hard work, that's my investment. If you let yourself get down, then you'll just get sink lower... Add in prayer and hard work and that's it. No matter how many games, that will bear fruit. That's proven and tested.)
Escamis finally found his touch on Tuesday, steering the Cardinals to an 85-78 win over Emilio Aguinaldo College as the defending champions ended a three-game slump.
The veteran guard poured in a team-high 20 points — his first 20-point outing since dropping 29 markers against Arellano last October 4 — while also grabbing four rebounds, four assists, and two steals.
His all-around game also proved pivotal for the rest of the squad with Cyril Gonzales and Yam Concepcion chipping in 14 and 13 markers each.
"Para sa akin team effort ‘yun e. Lot of my points ay galing sa assists and syempre galing din sa good defense and credit talaga ko sa mga teammates ko na nag-give ng extra passes to me," he added.
"Hindi ko magagawa ‘yun nang wala sila and ang mga coaches na palaging naguuplift sa amin na kahit three-game losing streak kami, walang sisihan talaga. Bounce back talaga and work hard."
(For me, that's a team effort. Lot of my points come from assists and of course, from good defense. And I have to give credit to my teammates who give extra passes to me... I couldn't do it without them and the coaches who always uplift us even during our three-game losing streak. No pointing fingers. Bounce back and work hard.)
—JMB, GMA Integrated News
