The Adamson University averted a huge meltdown as they stymied the Ateneo Lady Eagles’ late rally to take a 65-60 win in the UAAP Season 82 Women’s Basketball Tournament, Wednesday at the UST Quadricentennial Pavilion.
Mar Prado sparked a 16-4 run in the final period as the Lady Falcons took a 62-51 lead with 3:43 left in the game.
The Lady Eagles, however, had one more run in them. Alyssa Villamor and Joanne Nimes first drained back-to-back three-pointers. A Hazelle Yam basket then cut the lead to two points, 62-60, with seconds remaining in the match.
But their rally, unfortunately, went for naught. Lhyn Bilbao nailed the marginal free throws to lift the Lady Falcons to their sixth win in eight matches. They also keep a stronghold of the third spot in the standings.
“Yung Ateneo is sobrang agile nila — ‘yung quickness nila, ‘yung outside shooting nila (andoon). So I think yung pinaka-best weapon na ginamit namin nung first round and ngayon is ‘yung aggressiveness ng defense namin sa full court,” Adamson assistant Darren Torre said.
Prado finished with 25 points, 13 rebounds and three assists. Bilbao snagged a double-double herself with 16 points and 19 rebounds, while Kat Araja added nine points.
Villamor paced the Lady Eagles with 20 points, six rebounds and four assists. Meanwhile, Yam and Kat Gutingco chipped in 16 and 10 respectively.
The loss sent Ateneo further down their spiral. They drop their sixth match in seven games to fall to 3-6.
The Scores:
ADU 65 – Prado 25, Bilbao 16, Araja 9, Catulong 5, Dampios 5, Ornopia 3, Flor 2, Anticamara 0, Mendoza 0.
ADMU 60 – Villamor 20, Yam 16, Guytingco 10, Joson 5, Newsome 4, Nimes 3, Moslares 2, Cancio 0, Chu 0, Payac 0.
Quarterscores: 22-15, 34-25, 46-49, 65-60
