MAPUA University is among the 99th NCAA basketball tournament league leaders midway through the first round.
In five games so far, the Cardinals had bested San Sebastian College-Recoletos, San Beda University, College of Saint Benilde, and Emilio Aguinaldo College, while only falling short against Jose Rizal University.
And in their back-to-back wins last week over the Blazers and the Generals, one man’s heroics served as keys to the Intramuros-based squad’s rise to the top of the standings, and it was no less than Mapua’s homegrown forward–Paolo Hernandez.
Hernandez’s stellar play earned him the season’s second Collegiate Press Corps NCAA Player of the Week honors for the period Oct. 3 to 9, following suit to Shawn Umali of Lyceum of the Philippines university.
He topped teammate Clint Escamis, Lyceum’s Mclaude Guadana and John Barba, JRU’s Agem Miranda for the weekly award presented by San Miguel Corporation and backed by minor sponsors Discovery Suites and Jockey.
The 6-foot-3 wingman, who delivered 16.5 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 1.5 assists over those two victories, hit the game-winning jumpers in the payoff periods of both games to allow Mapua to forge a two-way tie at the second spot with the Heavy Bombers at 4-1.
