For the second straight year, a Japanese school ended National University’s bid for the BLIA Cup title.
The Lady Bulldogs absorbed a 75-63 semifinal defeat to Tohoku Gakuin on Saturday at the Kaohsiung Arena in Taiwan.
It can be recalled that Japan’s Women’s College of Physical Education also denied NU the championship last year, beating the Lady Bulldogs in the final.
This time, NU spent the entire game trying to catch up against Tohoku Gakuin and entered the fourth quarter trailing by 11 points.
The Lady Bulldogs could only trim the deficit to 10 in the final period as the Japanese side clamped down defensively, limiting NU’s high-powered offense to just 5-of-14 shooting while forcing four turnovers.
NU will face Fo Guang University in the battle for third place on Sunday.
Tin Cayabyab led the Lady Bulldogs with 18 points and five rebounds, while Zaydhen Rosano and Cielo Pagdulagan chipped in 11 and 10 points, respectively.
Ann Pingol was limited to just four points but still hauled down seven rebounds.
NU had gone unbeaten in the pool stage, defeating Malaysia, National Taiwan Normal University, and York University by an average margin of 5.0 points per game.
Takemoto Aoi paced Tohoku Gakuin with 16 points, while Ishita Yuma and Saito Rena contributed 14 points each.
