Cardinals take down Chiefs

MANILA, Philippines — Answered prayer.

That’s how Yam Concepcion saw Mapua’s 69-55 victory over previously unbeaten Arellano U in an NCAA Season 102 duel yesterday at the Filoil Center where he delivered a performance to remember.

“We just kept on praying,” said Concepcion, whose career-best 22 points, 11 rebounds, five blocks, four steals and three assists propelled the Cardinals to their second straight win after dropping their first three.

The slippery 6-3 bruiser was also at the heart of Mapua’s almost impenetrable defensive fortress, helping shut down AU’s most lethal weapon in T-MC Ongotan to his season-low seven after averaging a league-high 21.

It was a memorable day for Concepcion, who was known as a defensive-minded player but on this one, he looked more as a scoring machine and was almost immaculate with his 11 of the 15 clip.

In contrast, it was a forgettable stint for Ongotan, who had a hard time buying a basket, missing nine of his 11 shots, including three from beyond the arc.

That Cardinals sent the Chiefs crashing to earth after going on a hot 4-0 start and after seizing the Group B lead.

Mapua just came in a different team on this one, carrying momentum from that epic 55-54 slide-ending upset of reigning titlist San Beda last Monday.

Ivan Lazarte also came through and scattered 17 markers that he laced with a pair of booming triples.

In the other game, Justine Sanchez erupted for a career-best 27 markers as St. Benilde rallied to beat Perpetual Help, 81-79, in overtime and reclaimed the solo Group A lead with a 4-1 mark.

The Altas dropped to 2-3.