Eunique Chan and the University of the East Lady Warriors needed to dig deep once again against the valiant De La Salle University Lady Archers, taking an 82-79 win for their sixth straight win, Sunday morning at the SMART-Araneta Coliseum.
The win lifted the Lady Warriors’ slate to 10-2, tied for second with the UST Growling Tigresses. La Salle dropped its seventh straight game to fall to 2-11.
But even with Eunique Chan doing her part, scoring 16 of her 21 points in the second frame, the Lady Warriors’ defense was lackadaisical at best, allowing a season-high 14 three pointers that kept La Salle within striking distance for the entire course of the contest.
“Actually, hindi ako masaya sa ginawa nila today. Hindi ‘to yung gusto namin,” lamented UE head coach Aileen Lebornio. “Lagi ko sinasabi sa kanila na huwag niyo tignan yung kalaban niyo sa level niyo, tignan niyo sila na mas mataas sa inyo para mataas din ang laro niyo.
“Ang ginawa kasi nila, hindi ako masaya. Galing sila sa pahinga pero hindi ko alam bakit ganiyan ang nilaro nila. Ang only good thing lang dito ay nanalo kami. Hindi puwedeng laging ganito at kailangan namin malagpasan ito,” the youthful mentor furthered.
Fortunately for UE, La Salle missed its free throws late in the game that would have sent the game into extra time. With 16.0 ticks remaining and UE clinging to just a two-point lead, 79-77, Lady Archers skipper split her free throws. Love Sto. Domingo would have sealed the game but also split her free throws 7.2 seconds later.
Desperate, Angelika Figueroa drove into Chan to draw a foul. Figueroa though muffed her first attempt before converting on the second one. After Sto. Domingo knocked down two free throws to give the Lady Warriors a three-point edge, Dagdagan mishandled an inbound pass with 2.2 seconds left to give UE the victory.
“Worst defense namin ngayon. Wala kaming depensa kanina. Pagbalik namin ng UE, kailangan namin magtrabaho sa depensa. Hindi kami puwede magkamali sa last two games namin. Kaming mga coaches kailangan namin magtrabaho din,” Lebornio furthered.
Chan tallied 14 rebounds as well while Sto. Domingo finished with 18 points and 17 rebounds. Ruthlaine Tacula had 20 markers as well.
Khate Castillo paced La Salle with 19 points while Figueroa chipped in 15 points.
The Lady Warriors still have two games remaining in their elimination round campaign. They will take on the NU Lady Bulldogs on Wednesday, November 8 at 10:00am in the Blue Eagle Gym.
“Last two games, kailangan namin makuha yun. Tututukan namin yung depensa. Sabi nga nila, defense wins championships,” closed Lebornio.
La Salle, on the other hand, faces the UP Lady Maroons on the same day and time at the SMART-Araneta Coliseum.
The Scores:
UE (82) – Chan 21, Tacula 20, Sto. Domingo 18, Requiron 14, Ramos 5, Cortizano 2, Francisco 2, Antonio 0, Gayacao 0, Nama 0, Strchan 0.
DLSU (79) – Castillo 19, Figueroa 15, Dagdagan 10, Del Campo 8, Vergara 8, Javier 6, Nunez 6, Paraiso 4, Torres 3, Jimenez 0.
Quarterscores: 16-15, 45-39, 64-60, 82-79.
