Adamson University made history after securing a spot in the inaugural UAAP High School Girls Basketball Finals, scoring an 80-70 triumph over De La Salle-Zobel, Saturday at Paco Arena.
With a 4-0 slate, the Baby Lady Falcons punched their ticket to the finale.
The duo of Crisnalyn Padilla and Katrina Agojo once again led the Baby Lady Falcons. The former finished with a game-high 26 points to go along with five steals, four rebounds, and four assists; meanwhile, the latter tallied 15 points, eight rebounds, four steals, and an assist.
Adamson held a double-digit lead for most of the game, leading by as much as 20 points, 75-55, after an Agojo jumper with 2:13 left.
“Siyempre, nakakatuwa na maging part ng history na Adamson ang pinaka-unang team sa kasaysayan ng UAAP na maglalaro sa Finals nito,” said Adamson head coach Ewon Arayi. “Maganda ito para sa school at para sa women’s basketball.”
Besides Padilla and Agojo, Joan Camagong also delivered, finishing with 14 points and 15 rebounds. Abigail Amdad led Adamson’s bench with 12 points and 19 rebounds.
Luisa Dela Paz paced DLSZ — who fell to 1-3 — with 18 points, four rebounds, four assists, and two steals. Achissa Maw and Jeehan Ahmed also finished with double-doubles — 14 points and 13 rebounds for the former, and 13 points and 11 boards for Ahmed.
In the first game, University of Santo Tomas completed their sweep of Ateneo with an 80-point whitewash, 108-28.
Notching their third win, the Junior Growling Tigresses secured at least a playoff for the other Finals berth.
Bridgette Santos flirted with a rare quadruple-double but came up a rebound short of the feat. The forward scattered 18 points, 13 assists, 12 steals, and nine rebounds.
Five other UST student-cagers ended in double-digits with Erika Danganan, Rachel Lacayanga, and Chille Serrano getting 14 markers each. Jane Araza and Jazly Estudillo added 11 and 10 points, respectively.
Maxine Almeda paced the Lady Eaglets for the second straight game with 21 points and eight rebounds.
Ateneo remained winless in four outings.
The day’s winners collide on Saturday, February 8, with UST aiming to follow Adamson to the Finals in their battle scheduled at 9 a.m. La Salle, on the other hand, will shoot for its second win against Ateneo in the following game of that day at 11 a.m.
The Scores:
First Game
UST 108 – Santos 18, Danganan 14, Lacayanga 14, Serrano 14, Araza 11, Estudillo 10, Eroles 8, Rivera 8, Santos 7, Tubog 4.
AHS 28 – Almeda 21, Sarmiento 4, Perez 2, Doctor 1, Baltazar 0, Capayas 0, Co 0, Gonzaga 0, Jimenez 0, Medina 0.
Quaterscores: 29-5, 51-12, 88-23, 108-28
Second Game
ADU 80 – Padilla 26, Agojo 15, Camagong 14, Amdad 12, Carcallas 8, Miguel 4, Roy 2, Villarba 0, Reyes 0, Pohen 0, Brutas 0.
DLSZ 70 – Dela Paz 18, Maw 14, Ahmed 13, Lopez 7, Cancio 5, Villarin 4, Salado 4, Amol 3, Udal 2, Ba 0.
Quarterscores: 16-8, 32-20, 59-40, 80-70.
