Ateneo fended off a feisty challenge from La Salle to take the 92-90 thriller Sunday in the UAAP Season 82 Women’s Basketball Tournament at Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Alyssa Villamor bucked her early foul trouble and went bonkers from deep as she buried 20 points built on five treys, to go with nine rebounds, four assists, and two steals as the Lady Eagles stayed unbeaten at 2-0.
“She is a big time player, so we expect her to make those big-time plays,” said coach Kat Quimpo. “It was sad that she wasn’t able to play most of the first half cause of her fouls, but when we needed her she came out strong.”
Villamor took charge in the third frame as she had nine points in Ateneo’s 32-point third quarter as it overturned a 52-47 deficit and grabbed a 77-61 lead.
Rookie Kent Pastrana rallied the Lady Archers back in the fourth quarter, with Bennette Revillosa cutting the lead down to just two with 17.7 ticks left.
La Salle also forced a 24-second shot clock violation on the other end, but Pastrana missed her potential winner as time expired.
“We made lots of lapses towards the end and I think we should have won by more, but I guess they’re still adjusting to the new system,” said Quimpo. “The good thing is that when we needed to make a stop, we were able to make a stop, and when we needed to score, we were able to score.”
Kat Guytingco helped Ateneo with 15 points, seven boards, and two assists, Hazelle Yam tallied 14 points, eight rebounds, six assists, and three steals, and Mel Newsome also scored 14 points and three boards in the win.
La Salle bowed to its first loss to fall to 1-1.
Pastrana, the highly-touted rookie out of Silay City, poured 21 points, five steals, and four rebounds, but committed seven turnovers in the defeat.
Nigerian center Maureen Okoli got a monster double-double of 19 points and 19 boards, while Lee Sario had 15 points and four dimes for the Lady Archers.
The Scores:
ADMU 92 — Villamor 20, Guytingco 15, Newsome 14, Yam 14, Chu 11, Joson 10, Nimes 8, Cancio 0, Payac 0, Moslares 0, De Dios 0.
DLSU 90 — Pastrana 21, Okoli 19, Sario 15, Espinas 7, Binaohan 6, Quingco 6, Del Campo 5, Torres 5, Paraiso 4, Revillosa 2, Dalisay 0.
Quarterscores: 26-30, 45-52, 77-63, 92-90.
