The Far Eastern University Lady Tamaraws opened the UAAP Women’s Basketball Tournament with a win over their arch-rivals the University of the East Red Warriors, 52-37.
Opening day jitters was visible from both teams as Lady Warriors and the Lady Tamaraws combined to produce just 14 points for the opening quarter. Chery Ano-os missed her first 4 free throws in the opening period for the Lady Warriors while both Ana Valenzona and Angelica Gabriel were cold to start the game. Jaimee Chan nailed a jumper with 27 seconds left in the quarter to give FEU a 2 point lead over UE.
The start of the second quarter saw the UAAP debut for the Wonder Girl, Marie Fe Sampaga. April Siat and Chery Ano-os dominated the scoring for both teams in this quarter with 6 and 7 points respectively. A scary moment occurred during the game when Love Joy Dacula collided with her teammate Ruthlaine Tacula. Tacula was down for about two minutes before she was brought out of the playing court. Fortunately, Tacula returned to the game after halftime.
The break-away that FEU needed occurred in the 3rd quarter with them outscoring their opponents with a margin of 10 points. Claire Castro was finally able to check Eunique Chan limiting her to just 4 points and a rebound in the pivotal quarter. Jacqueline Tanaman nailed a beautiful buzzer-beating three-pointer to close-out the quarter.
It can be visibly seen during the final period that Eunice Chan was frustrated with how the game turned out. In total, the Lady Warriors shot just 17% from the field, only 2 for 16 from beyond the arc.
The final quarter also saw Lady Tamaraw point guard, Ana Valenzona fall hard on her back. She was visibly shaken after the fall but immediately stood-up after a minute. When asked about it, Coach Alex told the Times that Ana Valenzona sustained a neck injury after the Premiere Cup. Valenzona was only able to practice with the team a week ago.
April Siat led all scorers with 15 points, shooting 60% from the field while also notching 8 rebounds. For the Lady Warriors, Eunique Chan and Chery Ano-os both scored 12 points. Eunique Chan also had 10 rebound while her FEU counter-part, Claire Castro notched a game-high 11 rebounds in the dominant victory for FEU.
The Lady Warriors play the Tigresses on Wednesday while the Lady Tamaraws play DLSU. Both games will be played at the Blue Eagle Gym.
