The Adamson University Lady Falcons suppressed a late fourth quarter charge by the Ateneo de Manila University Lady Eagles to take home their third win of the UAAP Season 77 Women’s Basketball Tournament, 59-47, Wednesday at the Blue Eagle Gym.
After grabbing a narrow but steady lead in the first half, the Lady Falcons outscored the Lady Eagles, 19-12 in the third quarter, holding the Eagles to two points in the final three minutes. The Lady Falcons rallied behind Janille de Castro, who dominated in the inside at both ends of the court to limit the Lady Eagles’ scoring while contributing to Adamson’s scoring barrage.
The Lady Eagles would only finally pull together once more late in the fourth quarter, with back-to-back baskets by Caramia Buendia coming alive to trim the Lady Falcons’ lead to single digits, 49-40 with two minutes remaining in the quarter. Ateneo would finally trim the lead to 44-49, but a lost possession and free-throw baskets by Adamson’s Jingky Balasta would help Adamson pile on the lead once more and finally pull away from Ateneo.
Late game hero Jingky Balasta led the scoring for the Lady Falcons with 14 points, along with 5 rebounds. Janille de Castro, instrumental in suppressing the Lady Eagles scoring, added 12 points. Caramia Buendia and Claire Aseron each had 12 points and 6 rebounds to lead the Lady Eagles.
The Lady Falcons now climb to 3-3, while the Lady Eagles fall to 2-4. This marks the Lady Eagles’ fourth straight defeat, after starting their season with two straight wins.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | FT | |
| AdU | 15 | 8 | 19 | 17 | 59 |
| ADMU | 9 | 10 | 12 | 16 | 47 |
