Needing a much needed breather entering the second round, the Far Eastern University Lady Tamaraws and its pressing defense shackled the University of the Philippines Lady Maroons, taking a 56-52 win to snap their four game losing streak, Saturday morning at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
The Lady Tamaraws end their first round campaign with a 2-5 record to keep pace with the UST Growling Tigresses, the Adamson Lady Falcons, and the Ateneo Lady Eagles in the standings.
“Sa standing, kalimutan mo na yung NU at La Salle. Yung UE number three na yun,” FEU Lady Tamaraws head coach Bert Flores said. “Yun position namin nag-aagawan na sa Final Four kasama ng Adamson, UST, at Ateneo.”
Chieftain Precious Arellado led FEU’s hijacking of the game, scoring nine of her 11 points in the final frame. Loraine Ventura and foreign student-athlete Yetunde Okunla added nine and seven points respectively with the latter grabbing nine rebounds as well.
The Lady Maroons were able to limit their opponents to just two third quarter points. However, the lady cagers from Diliman failed to take advantage of this as FEU’s defense kept the game from turning into a blowout.
“Lahat ng game namin, third quarter lumalayo. Balak nga namin pa-kandila na namin, pa-Feng Shui na namin yung quarter na yun,” Flores quipped. “Lahat talaga ng third quarter namin masama.”
Up by as much as eight points in the fourth quarter, the Lady Tamaraws battled back. Arellado was able to give her team a 54-52 edge in the closing seconds of the game while the backcourt of FEU was able to force a turnover with 6.6 ticks left. The fifth year wing converted on two free throws to seal FEU’s second win of the season.
“Siya kasi pinaka senior namin at may final experience pa dati. Kaso nag-iisa lang siya at undersized pa. Maganda linaro niya pero kailangan namin yung mga back-up niya sa mga wing,” Flores remarked about his captain.
FEU was able to force UP to commit 28 turnovers in the game that led to 18 points. Moreover, the Lady Tamaraws shot 38 percent from the field compared to 33 percent for UP.
Looking forward to the next round, Flores shared that they are looking for at least three more wins to keep pace with their target of a Final Four finish.
“Kailangan namin maka-five wins siguro para makuha yung top four,” he closed.
Patricia Posquera led three Lady Maroons in double-digits with 15 points on 6-of-16 shooting from the field. Lourdes Ordoveza added 11 points while Antonia Wong almost notched a double-double with 10 points and eight rebounds.
UP finished the first round at the bottom with a 1-6 record.
The Scores:
FEU (56) – Arellado 11, Ventura 9, Mamaril 8, Ouano 8, Okunlola 7, Jumuad 5, Gerner 4, Balleser 2, Capua 2, Payadon 0, Quiapo 0.
UP (52) – Pesquera 15, Ordoveza 11, Wong 10, Esplana 8, Aliermo 4, Bautista 2, Franco 2, Medina 0, Lapid 0, Rodas 0, Gatpatan 0, Ongsiako 0.
Quarterscores: 19-12, 31-28, 40-33, 56-52.
