Mapúa Red Robins wrap NCAA 100 campaign with 5-4 record

Article by: Crismhil S. Anselmo

Graphics by: Albert Dylan D. David and Crismhil S. Anselmo

Photo by: Marcus D. Agustin

Sporting a semis bout in the previous season, the Mapúa Red Robins ran it back to the hardwood floors in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Season 100 Juniors Basketball Tournament which ran from February 24 to April 11, to settle unfinished business.

Starting the season with high hopes, the Red Robins kicked off their centennial season campaign against eventual champions University of Perpetual Help System DALTA Junior Altas at the Filoil EcoOil Centre last February 24. Noah Banal posted a 21-point outing before the team fell short to secure the opening win, 86-80.

Hungry for a win, the Muralla squad outlasted defending champions Colegio de San Juan de Letran Squires at the same venue in an intense Battle of Intramuros overtime thriller, 81-73, to give the red and gold squad its first victory in the season on February 26. Yuri Duque and Sean Salvador made their mark on the baskets after contributing five and four points, respectively, to secure the overtime win.

Marching forward with a 1-1 standing, Allan Laurenaria showed up with a near double-double performance—contributing eight baskets and 10 rebounds—in the Red Robins’ matchup against eventual runner-up La Salle Greenhills Greenies at the Emilio Aguinaldo College (EAC) Sports and Cultural Center last March 2. Despite the showstopping late game rally, the home team absorbed its second loss, 73-76.

Come March 4, the Red Robins proved that only the ending matters after surviving a close match against the San Beda University Red Cubs with a dominating final quarter performance 17-9 to recover from previous frame hiccups to close the game at a narrow 71-69 win at the FilOil EcoOil Centre. Salvador made his presence known in the game with 24 points with four baskets beyond the arc.

Extending their victory run in the same venue, the red and gold squad vanquished the Arellano University Braves, 81-78, on March 10 to give Mapúa its third win in the season. Salvador earned his second Player of the Game honors with 20 points built from four three-pointers and four two-pointers.

Displaying prowess in the court, the Red Robins dominated the Lyceum of the Philippines University Junior Pirates, 76-58, to ignite a winning streak at the FilOil EcoOil Centre last March 12. Leading their neighbors by 32 points by the end of the third frame, an all-around performance from the home team grabbed Mapúa its fourth win. Salvador, Laurenaria, Ruzzel Del Poso, and Dwyne Miranda all finished with double-digit outings in the matchup.

The Muralla squad extended their win streak to four after completely neutralizing the Jose Rizal University Light Bombers in an impressive 74-61 victory at the EAC Sports and Cultural Center on March 23. Del Poso earned his second Player of the Game honors with 21 points all powered from shots beyond the rainbow country.

A neck-and-neck battle ensued in the Red Robins’ faceoff against the EAC Brigadiers, with the latter only leading by two points at most at the close of the quarters. Unable to grab hold of the lead, the red and gold squad snapped their winning stream to absorb their third loss, 78-71, at the FilOil EcoOil Centre on March 25.

Stakes were high when Mapúa’s contenders entered their game against the San Sebastian College-Recoletos Golden Staglets on March 31 at the FilOil  EcoOil Centre. Odds were in favor of the red and gold jerseys when they closed the opening quarter at 24-17. However, the second and third frame hiccups gave the team a significant deficit to deny the victory, 74-79, despite the late game surge.

Absorbing their fourth loss, the Red Robins bowed from their semis bout with a 5-4 standing, landing at the sixth spot in the centennial season.

Despite wrapping their campaign short of a final four finish, the Red Robins rose to the standings in statistical leaderboards. By the end of the elimination round, Miranda tallied 4.56 assists per game to place second in terms of assists, whereas John Tagocon ranked fourth in blocks per game, boasting an average of 1.43.

Meanwhile, Laurenaria bagged the Rookie of the Year title and landed a spot in the league’s All-Defensive Team after posting an average of 8.56 rebounds per game.

As of writing, there is yet to be news on graduating players committing to Mapúa for their collegiate basketball runs.