Despite Clare Castro being under-the-weather, Far Eastern University still managed to escape De La Salle University, 67-66, in the UAAP Season 82 Women’s Basketball Tournament, Wednesday afternoon at the UST Quadricentennial Pavilion.
Castro, FEU’s 6-foot-4 center, was suffering from the flu and was limited to just 20 minutes in the game. She still racked up 13 points, six rebounds, and three blocks.
“Problema namin may sakit siya today e kaya 20 minutes lang siya. Quality minutes lang siya kanina kaya rotate at rotate lang kami,” said FEU head coach Bert Flores.
Stepping up for FEU were Valerie Mamaril, who had 21 points, and Choy Bahuyan, who hauled down 13 rebounds to go along with eight points.
With the two stepping up, the Lady Tamaraws built a 66-55 lead midway through the final frame.
La Salle rookie Kent Pastrana though would spark a blistering run that sliced the lead down to one with six seconds left. However, Bea Dalisay could not convert on a desperation triple late that led to FEU’s escape.
“Maganda yung sistema ni Cholo kasi puro shooters. Buti na-limit namin sila [Lee] Sario and Chuchi [Paraiso],” said Flores.
With the win, FEU picked up their third straight win to go up to 3-1 to create a tie for second with Adamson while dropping La Salle to sixth with a 2-3.
Pastrana once again paced La Salle with 18 points, eight rebounds, three assists, two steals, and a block. The native of Silay City though shot just 5-of-22 from the field.
Chuchi Paraiso and Bennette Revillosa had 13 and 11 markers each but both combined to shoot just 9-of-22 from the field.
The Scores:
FEU 67 – Mamaril 21, Antiola 14, Castro 13, Bahuyan 8, Delos Santos 5, Jumuad 3, Abat 2, Quiapo 1, Vidal 0, Payadon 0, Bastatas 0.
DLSU 66 – Pastrana 18, Paraiso 13, Revillosa 11, Sario 8, Quingco 7, Camba 4, Dalisay 3, Okoli 2, Malarde 0, Torres 0, Espinas 0.
Quarterscores: 14-11, 31-25, 54-46, 67-66.
