Cardinals oiled their way in the first half after drilling 12 three-pointers giving them a 26-point lead, 54-28, but the Atlas pushed their offense thanks to Jielo Razon and Kim Aurin’s offensive prowess the deficit was trimmed to just 17, 71-54.

The Atlas continued to recover but Mapua refused such tenacity as Brian Lacap and Paolo Hernandez fired a back-to-back basket to seal the deal for the Cardinals in the final frame, climbing to a 4-2 slate.

Toby Agustin led Mapua with 24 points built around 5-of-7 shooting from three-point range to go alongside five rebounds, two assists, and one block while Brian Lacap chipped in 19 markers, six boards, and five dimes.

Warren Bonifacio also contributed 13 points, nine rebounds, and two blocks, while Adrian Nocum scored 13 points.

Jielo Razon paced Perpetual with 24 points, eight rebounds, and six assists, while Jeff Egan scored 18 points, five boards, and two dimes, and Chris Pagaran had 17 points and five rebounds for the Perpetual’s second straight loss to drop to 2-4.

Mapua will be back in their game against De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde on April 19 while Perpetual faces San Beda University on April 20.

The Scores:

Mapua 95 – Agustin 24, Lacap 19, Nocum 13, Bonifacio 13, Hernandez 9, Asuncion 9, Pido 5, Garcia 3, Gamboa 0, Mercado 0.

Perpetual 83 – Razon 24, Egan 18, Pagaran 17, Aurin 12, Boral 4, Barcuma 4, Omega 2, Abis 2, Sevilla 0, Cuevas 0, Martel 0, Nunez 0.

Quarters: 26-13; 54-28; 73-55; 95-83.