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LSGH holds on to beat Mapua, one win away from NCAA juniors title

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Camille B. Naredo, ABS-CBN News

<div class='embed-wrap'><figure data-feedback='fb:likes,fb:comments'><img src='http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2018/sports/11/06/20181106-delassle.jpg?ext=.jpg' ><figcaption>The LSGH Junior Blazers are one win away from their second straight NCAA title. Arvin Lim, ABS-CBN Sports</figcaption></figure></div>MANILA, Philippines -- In a wild finish to Game 1 of the NCAA Juniors Finals, defending champion La Salle Greenhills escaped with a 74-69 triumph over the Mapua University Red Robins to move on the cusp of claiming the Season 94 title on Tuesday at the Mall of Asia Arena.Joel Cagulangan hit the big shots down the stretch for the Junior Blazers, but it was Joshua David who came up with the stop with six seconds left that helped LSGH hold on for the win."We're tired of losing to them," said LSGH coach Marvin Bienvenida, whose team lost both of their match-ups to the Red Robins in the elimination round. Clinging to a 72-69 lead with 22 seconds to go, the Junior Blazers gave Mapua an opportunity to further trim the deficit with a turnover. Unfortunately for the Red Robins, Jonnel Policarpio agonizingly missed a lay-up, and Karl Mariano was called for a foul in the ensuing tussle for the loose ball.LSGH again gave the Red Robins an opening when Mark Sangco missed two free throws, but David stole the ball after the rebounding play, and assisted on RC Calimag's insurance bucket at the buzzer.The Junior Blazers thus took a 1-0 lead in the best-of-3 finals series, and are now just one win away from back-to-back NCAA titles.<ul class='op-related-articles'>	<li><a href='https://sports.abs-cbn.com/ncaa/news/2018/11/06/ncaa-lpu-s-cj-perez-disqualified-mvp-mythical-team-49423'>READ: Lyceum's CJ Perez disqualified from MVP, Mythical Team awards</a></li></ul>They defeated the Red Robins in three hotly contested games last year for their maiden NCAA juniors crown. "We slugged it out. It could have gone either way but we coped up with our mistakes," said Bienvenida.Cagulangan scored nine of his team-high 16 points in the fourth quarter, while adding 12 rebounds and four assists. Inand Fornillos had 15 points and 11 boards, while Sangco finished with 10 points and 15 rebounds.The Junior Blazers were in control most of the way, and had a 53-42 lead entering the payoff period.But the Red Robins, champions in Season 92 before being dethroned last year, struck back through Clint Escamis and Paolo Hernandez, who sparked a rally that made it a 3-point game, 59-56, with still 6:55 left to play. Escamis, a member of the Mythical Team this year, knocked down three three-pointers in the first four minutes of the fourth period to anchor their run.Cagulangan scored five unanswered points to make it a more comfortable 64-56 lead, before Escamis nailed another triple and Hernandez split his free throws to make it a four-point game once more.But Cagulangan, the Season 94 MVP, would not be denied. He converted a tough lay-up to make it 70-63 with under two minutes left, and after Hernandez scored once more inside the paint, he knocked down a step-back jumper for a 72-65 advantage with exactly 60 seconds to go.The Junior Blazers' errors in the ensuing possessions allowed Mapua to score two quick buckets, and thus make it a one-possession game once more, 72-69, with still 22.8 seconds to go. Fortunately for LSGH, they got the breaks in the endgame, with David coming up with a massive steal to seal the victory."Those are lapses coming from on our end. I feel those were our lapses eh. After this, we'll have viewing. We'll get to dissect, learn from it, and you know, prepare for the next game," said Bienvenida.Hernandez finished with 20 points and nine rebounds, while Policarpio added 15. Escamis scored 12 of his 14 points in the final frame, but sat out the final 4:10 of the game after his knee injury flared up anew.Game 2 of the finals is on Monday, November 12, still at the MOA Arena.<div>The scores:</div>CSB-LSGH 74 -- Cagulangan 16, Fornilos 15, Sangco 10, Calimag 8, Morales 7, David 5, Palencia 5, Valenzuela 5, Lao 3, Mosqueda 0, Lepalam 0.MAPUA 69 -- Hernandez 20, Policarpio 15, Escamis 14, Arches 9, Sarias 5, Mariano 4, Smith 2, Diaz 0, Dennison 0, Quimado 0.Quarter scores: 17-18, 42-32, 53-42, 74-69For more sports coverage, visit the <a href='http://sports.abs-cbn.com'>ABS-CBN Sports website</a>.

Defending champion La Salle Greenhills escaped with a 74-69 triumph over the Mapua Red Robins to move on the cusp of claiming the Season 94 title on Tuesday at the Mall of Asia Arena.

Defending champion La Salle Greenhills escaped with a 74-69 triumph over the Mapua Red Robins to move on the cusp of claiming the Season 94 title on Tuesday at the Mall of Asia Arena.

LSGH holds on to beat Mapua, one win away from NCAA juniors title

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LSGH holds on to beat Mapua, one win away from NCAA juniors title

Camille B. Naredo,

ABS-CBN News

Published November 06, 2018 04:26 PM PHT

Read More:

NCAA

basketball

LSGH Junior Blazers

Mapua Red Robins

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