After a disappointing Season 80 campaign, the Ateneo de Manila University Lady Eagles armed themselves with highly-touted recruits.
The team’s youngsters delivered late to lift the Lady Eagles’ 64-60 win over neighbors University of the Philippines Lady Maroons, Sunday afternoon at the Blue Eagle Gym in Quezon City.
“We were awful today, that’s one,” rued second-year Lady Eagles head coach John Flores. “Two, UP did a good job preparing for us by running the 2-3 zone. And third, I can’t rely on the rookies to bail us out. The older guys need to step up. They need to be my core, not the rookies.”
Sophomore Jhazmin Joson filled up the stat sheet with 18 points, six assists, five rebounds, and four steals. Rookie Joanne Nimes added 16 points and six boards.
“Nimes is a rookie, Joson is a sophomore. We should get more inputs from the older girls,” emphasized Flores.
And the two needed to step us as super seniors Jollina Go and Cara Buendia struggled in the game.
The Lady Maroons started the contest brightly and accrued their biggest lead of the ballgame at the 2nd quarter. Cindy Gonzales’ basket handed State U an 18-26 separation from Ateneo with 5:22 left in the period.
Flores’ wards, though, retaliated quickly to even up the contest. Jhazmin Joson’s three capped off an 8-0 run to level the ballgame at 26-26 all. Only a charity by UP’s Andrea Ferrer allowed the Lady Maroons a slim 26-27 lead before the halftime break.
A tight second half ensued in the game. The two schools fought tooth and nail for the basket and only a Carmelita Bascon three near the end of the period allowed the Lady Maroons a 42-47 edge from the Lady Eagles by the end of the third quarter.
The Lady Eagles then enacted a 13-4 run closed out by Joanne Nimes’ three to seize the lead once again at 55-51 nearly halfway through the final period. However, UP found a way to tie the ballgame at 57-57 with less than two minutes in the game.
Flores recalled Jollina Go from the bench and the veteran guard converted a big three to hand Ateneo a 60-57 lead in crunch time. Ateneo captain Nicole Cancio then granted her team a 62-58 lead with 1:15 left.
UP did not give up, however, and Gonzales’ free throws handed the Diliman institution a lifeline at 60-62 with over a minute remaining. Nevertheless, it was Ateneo’s game to win. and Alyssa Villamor’s endgame charities allowed the Lady Eagles to escape 64-60 after four quarters.
“We won because of the breaks. UP did a splendid job of preparing for us. We just didn’t respond well in the first three quarters.. We need to do a better job minute by minute, quarter by quarter on both ends of the floor,” Flores said.
Third-year floor general Gene Amar paced UP with 12 points, seven assists, and five rebounds. Noella Cruz and Stifanny Larrosa chipped in 10 points and 11 rebounds respectively.
Both schools will next play on September 12 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City. Ateneo (1-0) face the University of the East Lady Warriors at 8:00 AM, while UP (0-1) go up against the Far Eastern University Lady Tamaraws afterwards at 10:00 AM.
The Scores:
ADMU 64 – Joson 18, Nimes 16, Cancio 9, Go 9, Villamor 6, Buendia 2, Gino-gino 2, Newsome 1, Chu 1, Guytingco 0, Moslares 0.
UP 60 – Amar 12, Cruz 10, Gonzales 9, Ferrer 9, Larrosa 6, Ordoveza 6, Bascon 6, De Leon 2, Medina 0, Rodas 0, De Guzman 0.
Quarterscores: 16-16, 26-27, 42-47, 64-60
