Camille Claro played her best game of the season yet, exploding for 17 points to help De La Salle University pull away from Adamson University and score a 75-57 victory Sunday in the UAAP Season 78 women’s basketball tournament at the Blue Eagle Gym.
Claro scored 12 points in the second half, engineering what was a 45-26 domination by the Lady Archers in the final two quarters of the game.
The onslaught started in the third quarter when La Salle decided to go small, using a three-guard line-up which stymied the Lady Falcons’ attack after going on a full-court press.
Back to back and-one plays by Ara Abaca and a triple by Alyanna Ong transformed a 34-37 deficit to a 45-37 lead for La Salle; Claro then added to the damage after scoring 6 straight in a 9-0 run which made the lead 57-42 at the end of the third frame.
The Lady Archers outscored the Lady Falcons 27-11 in the third quarter alone.
Adamson led by as much as 6 in the first half, 22-16 but long range connections by Ana Castillo brought La Salle back in the match, 25-24. From there it was a back and forth duel until the third period before La Salle decided to outrun their foes decisively.
The Taft side totalled 16 steals, and forced 36 turnovers from the San Marcelino squad which led to a whopping 41 turnover points.
La Salle also shot 40 percent from three-point area, complementing their speed with space.
Claro had 17 points on 50 percent shooting; Castillo finished with 14 points while Abaca added 13 points and 4 rebounds.
La Salle rose to 5-1 in the team standings for solo second behind unbeaten National University. Adamson dropped to 3-3 in a tie for fourth with University of the East.
Jamie Alcoy had 14 points to lead the Lady Falcons but the team’s usual scorers Janille De Castro and Princess Cochico were limited to only 7 points on 2-of-15 shooting combined.
The Scores:
DLSU (75) – Claro 17, Castillo 14, Abaca 13, Revillosa 8, Dagdagan 7, Vergara 5, Ong 4, Penaranda 3, Gonzales 2, Roxas 2, Vela 0, Pineda 0, Arciga 0, Oyao 0, Malarde 0.
AdU (57) – Alcoy 14, Osano 10, Tacitac 10, Araja 8, Lacson 6, De Castro 4, Cochico 3, Ramillano 2, Generoso 0, Ido 0, Pingol 0, Tabanao 0.
Quarterscores: 10-11, 30-31, 57-42, 75-57.
