Coming off two straight losses, a regrouped Adamson University Lady Falcons played fun basketball, holding off the De La Salle University Lady Archers, 67-60, Sunday morning at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
The win lifted Adamson to a 5-7 record, half a game behind fourth-running FEU, while handing La Salle their fifth straight loss, as they fell to 2-9.
“I want to credit yung mga bata. They’re doing their best,” said first-year Lady Falcons head coach John Kallos, “Kanina, kahit naghahabol yung La Salle, they did not want to give up. They really want to go to the Final Four. Sana hanggang dulo, tuloy tuloy na ito.”
Nathalia Prado picked up another double-double in this game, finishing with 21 points and 19 rebounds in just 25 minutes of game time. Jamie Alcoy added 15 markers.
Beyond the two consistent performers for Adamson, it was rookie Nikka Villanueva that drew praise from Kallos.
“If you did not notice si Villanueva kanina, she grabbed 14 rebounds off the bench. Pure hard work talaga,” Kallos remarked about Villanueva.
After giving up an early lead that turned into a 43-42 lead for La Salle with 4:43 on the clock in the third frame, Adamson went on a 17-3 run that turned the tides of the game around. Khate Castillo tried to stop the bleeding with a triple with 5:06 left, but baskets by Nathalie Razalo and Prado gave Adamson a game-high 14 point lead, 63-49 with 2:33 remaining.
Castillo, La Salle’s leading scorer, heated up, knocking down three straight triples in a span of just 45 seconds to cut the lead to just five. However, that proved to be the last straw, as free throws by Kath Araja and Prado sealed the win for the Lady Falcons.
“I just want to boost the morale of the girls every time they go in,” Callos said about the light-hearted huddles the team had during the final frame, “Kahit nagkakamali sila, I still give them the chance. I want to give them the free will on how they will understand the system we are running. Positive naman especially this second round.”
Castillo finished with a game-high 28 points for La Salle, knocking down a season-high eight triples in the contest.
“That’s very crucial for us. We need to bounce back from our loss sa kanila nung first round. We need to work hard if we want to be in the Final Four,” said Kallos.
Adamson look to sustain their momentum from this game when they face the Ateneo de Manila University Lady Eagles on Saturday, November 4, at the Blue Eagle Gym in Quezon City. La Salle, on the other hand, take on the University of the East Lady Warriors on Sunday, November 5, at 8:00am.
The Scores:
AdU (67) – Prado 21, Alcoy 15, Cabug 8, Cacho 6, Villanueva 5, Lacson 4, Razalo 4, Araja 2, Camacho 2, Rosario 0, Aciro 0, Ramillano 0, Tacitac 0.
DLSU (60) – Castillo 28, Figueroa 10, Paraiso 7, Torres 6, Dagdagan 4, Nunez 4, Del Campo 1, Jimenez 0, Javier 0, Vergara 0.
Quarterscores: 16-14, 34-26, 51-46, 67-60.
