ANTIPOLO — University of the East denied University of the Philippines from earning history at its expense, pulling off the 68-66 victory Saturday in the UAAP Season 82 Women’s Basketball Tournament at Ynares Center here.
Queen Ordas drilled the go-ahead three-point play that put the Lady Warriors up, 66-63 with 1:43 left to play as the Lady Maroons failed to convert on their end.
With UP forced to foul in the waning seconds, Princess Pedregosa calmly sank her charities to make it a five-point game, 68-63 for UE with 11.6 ticks on the clock.
Pesky Pesquera buried a trey on the other end to cut the lead down to two, but the Lady Warriors were just too slick as the Lady Maroons failed to foul as the buzzer horned.
UE finally snapped its four-game losing skid to win its breakthrough victory this year, while keeping UP winless at 0-5 and continuing its 35-game losing skid.
“Syempre, yun ang pinaka-pressure sa amin na may losing streak sila. Rebuilding kami pero yung players namin, mas beterano kaysa sa UP, kaya kung kaya naming kunin, kunin dapat namin,” said coach Aileen Lebornio.
Tin Cortizano led the Lady Warriors with 19 points, seven rebounds, two assists, one steal, and one block, while Nins Cuadero got 14 points and nine boards.
Pedregosa also did her share with 13 points and 10 rebounds, Ordas got nine points and 11 boards, as Lebornio lauded the standout showing of playmaker Jearzy Ganade, who tallied nine points, 12 assists, and five rebounds for UE.
“Last four games namin, doon kami pinapatay. Sabi ko sa kanya, dalhin mo yung team. Wag kang matakot magkamali. Pag nagkamali ka, mali ko yun,” said Lebornio.
Pesquera topped the Lady Maroons with 22 points on 4-of-7 shooting from deep, to go with her 10 rebounds and four assists, while Stiff Larrosa had 16 points, four boards, and two dimes.
The Scores:
UE 68 — Cortizano 19, Cuadero 14, Pedregosa 13, Ganade 9, Ordas 9, Nama 2, Tinio 2, Caraig 0, Fernandez 0, Terrinal 0.
UP 66 — Pesquera 22, Larrosa 16, Ordoveza 13, Sanchez 6, Gonzales 4, De Leon 2, Rivera 2, Lebico 1, Gusilatar 0, Hidalgo 0, Lucman 0.
Quarterscores: 8-13, 29-30, 48-48, 68-66.
