Clint Escamis fired a game-high 18 points to power Mapúa’s 16-point beatdown of Perpetual in the battle between Group A’s top and second seeds on Friday, with the Cardinals notching their sixth win in 11 games.

The former NCAA Rookie-MVP finished with three 3s alongside 2 boards, 5 assists, and a steal with no turnovers en route to a best player of the game nod.

Cyrus Cuenco added 13 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 dimes with three long-distance conversions, while Yam Concepcion and Earl Sapasap contributed 11 and 10, respectively.

The league-leading Altas were led offensively by Josiah Alcantara who was the only cager to score in double digits for Coach Olsen Racela with 10. 

Mapua’s vengeful victory was a welcome scene for Coach Randy Alcantara and his boys who got dumped by the Perpetual Altas in their first round slugfest by 10 points, 75-65.

During that loss, Escamis was in the midst of a forgettable offensive slump– limited to only 6 points on 3-of-13 shooting from the field. 

Still sitting in second place, Mapúa improves their record to 6-5, while Perpetual remains the top seed team in Group A with a league-leading 8-3 tally.