The surging UE Lady Warriors were not to be denied
Wanting to one up their finish a season ago, the University of the East Lady Warriors did not buckle, withstanding an Adamson University Lady Falcon rally in a 48-45 win, Saturday afternoon at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
“Sobrang blessed kami. Bibigay ko talaga lahat ng credit sa players ko, hanggang sa dulo hindi sila bumitaw kahit nagkakaroon kami ng errors,” a relieved UE head coach Aileen Lebornio said.
Benguet-native Ruthlaine Tacula and graduating player Eunique Chan stepped up in place for the foul-plagued Love Sto. Domingo. Both dropped 11 markers each with Chan adding 11 rebounds.
“A-game ngayon ni Nique. Sabi ko sa kanya, na ayoko na ito ang maging last game ng pagsasama namin,” Lebornio remarked about Chan. “Gusto ko madagdagan pa ito ng isa, dalawa, tatlo, o apat na laro na magkasama kami. Nakita ko talaga ang pagkabeterano niya at dinala niya kami sa gusto namin.”
Mythical Five member Love Sto. Domingo, UE’s leading scorer and rebounder, was in foul trouble for almost the entire game. She was assessed her fourth personal foul with eight minutes left in the third canto.
“Alam naman natin na malaking bagay si Lovejoy sa amin. Nakakakuha siya ng 18 rebounds a game so nung nawala siya sa amin, nakita ko yung rebound ang naging problema namin,” Lebornio lamented. “Pangalawa, nagkaroon kami ng kulang sa rotation especially malaki si Lovejoy. Marami siyang points na binibigay sa amin.”
The win did not go easy though as the Lady Warriors needed to dig deep especially without Sto. Domingo. Up 14 points midway through the third canto, Nathalia Prado and Jamie Alcoy unleashed a furious Adamson rally. Prado scored all eight of her points in the third frame.
Then in the final frame, Alcoy scored eight straight points, including back-to-back triples and a breakaway layup to give Adamson its first lead of the game, 43-41 with 3:58 left.
Alcoy finished the with 10 points while Jona Lacscon chipped in 10 markers as well.
“Sinabi ko sa kanila, ‘just give it your best shot.’ Hindi tayo puwede mag-dwell sa mga nangyari sa atin,” Lebornio shared. “Yung mga pagkakamaling yun sa akin yun pero yung last three minutes sila na yun.”
With those words of encouragement, the Lady Warriors went back to the defense that limited Adamson to a horrid 17 percent shooting in the first half. A three-point play by Nicole Mendina and a floater by Tacula returned the lead back to UE. A breakaway basket by Sto. Domingo with 46 ticks left extended the lead to three points, 48-45.
Adamson though still had a chance to tie the game. With 7.9 seconds left, Alcoy was able to find herself wide-open for a corner triple but the shot was way short.
UE shot 26 percent from the field compared to 23 percent for Adamson. The small difference in shooting proved to be the difference as they barely outrebounded the Lady Falcons, 52 to 47, while committing more turnovers 31 to 27.
Sophomore Kaye Pingol was limited to just a solitary point, going 0-of-14 from the field.
The UE Lady Warriors will next face the De La Salle University Lady Archers in the semifinals on Wednesday, November 30 at the SMART-Araneta Coliseum.
The Scores:
UE (48) – Tacula 11, Chan 11, Mendina 8, Gayacao 6, Sto. Domingo 6, Francisco 3, Requiron 3, Ramos 0, Antonio 0.
ADU (45) – Lacson 10, Alcoy 10, Prado 8, Cabug 6, Camacho 4, Razalo 4, Dampios 2, Pingol 1, Araja 0, Osano 0, Rosario 0, Aciro 0, Loretero 0.
Quarterscores: 11-4, 25-13, 35-31, 48-45.
