After a spectacular Season 78 campaign, the Ateneo de Manila University Lady Eagles commenced their UAAP Season 79 Women’s Basketball Championship campaign with a 65-57 victory at the expense of the University of Santo Tomas Growling Tigresses.
Katrina Guytingco and Jonette Uy De Ong led Ateneo in scoring with 12 points each. However, it was defense which won the game for the Lady Eagles as they forced the Growling Tigresses to commit thirty-six turnovers.
“I think our defensive intensity saved the day for us. They got a lot of turnovers from us but we were able to do the same for them,” said reinstated Lady Eagles coach John Flores.
The Lady Eagles led as much as fourteen points in the third quarter after a free throw from Guytingco. That lead, though, didn’t last long as a Bettina Portillo trey gave hope back to UST cut the Ateneo’s lead to eight points.
Despite the UST run, Flores kept faith in his wards to ride out the storm. “I wasn’t scared. I was just thinking of how would we be able to get back. I wasn’t scared. I trust my kids. I know they’re going to do what’s needed to be done,” he said.
Deep in the fourth quarter, UST threatened to mount a comeback. Portillo successfully stole the leather from a Lady Eagle and drove straight to the basket to make it an eight-point game with over a minute left. Sofia Felisarta then provided two more points after a timeout to give the Growling Tigresses a real chance in winning the game.
Nevertheless, Ateneo’s end-game management saw them through. Akiko Tomita scored beneath the rim to restore the Lady Eagles’ eight-point lead over the Growling Tigresses. Tomita was then fouled and she converted both free throws as Ateneo eventually won 65-57 over UST.
One thing to note was that UST had a better field goal percentage at 40.74 percent over Ateneo, 38.78 percent. Unfortunately for UST, Ateneo was more efficient with its free throws as they shot 24-of-39 for 61.54 percent from the lane compared to their 10-of-29, 34.48 percent clip.
After the game, Flores remained tight-lipped with what the Lady Eagles targeted this season.
“Sa amin na lang yun. We talked about that at the teambuilding and we want to keep it within the team,” the Ateneo mentor added.
The next game of the Lady Eagles (1-0) will be against the defending champions National University Lady Bulldogs on Sunday, September 11 at 10:00AM at the Araneta Coliseum while the Growling Tigresses (0-1) play a day earlier against the University of the East Lady Warriors on September 10 at 8:00AM.
The Scores:
ADMU (65) – Guytingco 12, Uy De Ong 12, Tomita 9, Deacon 9, Yam 8, Cancio 8, Villamor 4, Go 3, Newsome 0.
UST (57) – Peñaflor 16, Anies 15, Felisarta 8, Portillo 7, Angeles 4, Gandalla 3, Larosa 2, Jerez 2, Rivera 0, Manuel 0, Magdaluyo 0, Aujero 0, Capalit 0.
Quarterscores: 21-17, 38-28, 50-40, 65-57.
