Future is ‘bright’ for NCAA runners up Mapua Cardinals

MANILA, Philippines—Mapua fell short of capturing the NCAA Season 99 championship but the future is bright for the Intramuros-based squad.

After proving their mettle this year, the Cardinals sat atop the league for the majority of the season before ultimately bowing down in the most important series of the tournament against San Beda Red Lions.

So when graduating guard Warren Bonifacio was asked about his thoughts on the squad’s future, he had nothing but high hopes for the Red and Yellow squad.

“Despite the loss, I’m still proud of my squad because they gave their best. We just came up short in the fourth quarter but I’m still very proud,” said Bonifacio after their 76-66 loss in Game 3 of the NCAA Finals last December 17.

“Everyone who’s left here has huge potential and we also have recruits coming in. I told them to treat their (San Beda) happiness as motivation because they didn’t get the title… They still lack some things, there are still some things to improve on for the next NCAA but with Clint Escamis, Peter (Ryle) Rosillo, JC Recto and the others, the future is bright for Mapua.”

With Bonifacio struggling on offense with just four points and seven rebounds, the young guns stepped up to the plate to give the eventual champions a run for their money.

Rosillo, who was originally set to be the Freshman of the Year but was disqualified due to a suspension in the elimination round, finished with 10 points and three rebounds. Recto, meanwhile, led the Cardinals in points with a double-double of 18 points and 14 boards.

Paolo Hernandez, on the other hand, also struggled in Game 3 with six points, sinking only two of his 12 tries from the field.

The shooting guard, who still has a year left in his collegiate run, commended the young cats for picking up the slack. He also said this Finals run would be a learning experience for the rookies.

“Nobody said we’d get here. Even in the predictions, we’re not expected so I’m very proud of this team, the rookies and sophomores. I’m so proud of the kids that we got to reach the last game of the NCAA,” said Hernandez.

“I’m very proud of these kids, this is a learning experience for us. This’ll be a very tough team next season, we’ll see what happens,” he added.

‘RUN IT BACK’

While the Red Lions are holding their breath on the uncertainty of Jacob Cortez staying for the Season 99 champions, the Cardinals have the luxury of league MVP Escamis, who is staying put with Mapua.

The former University of the East swingman shut down the rumors of getting offers from other schools and assured Mapua that he is staying put for two more years.

With his residency comes the responsibility of being the undisputed leader for coach Randy Alcantara now that Bonifacio exhausted all his years of eligibility.

“With our key players gone like Bonifacio, who was captain and been with Mapura for 10 years, I need to step up and be more mature,” said Escamis after finishing with 13 points, five rebounds and four assists.

If there’s any more indication that the Cardinals look to keep their competitive fire burning for Season 100, Escamis stated that they will “run it back” and double the work they achieved in Season 99.

“For sure, we’ll run it back. [Whether it’s] finals, championship, we’ll do all those, I promise. Whatever we do this season, we’ll double it.”