The National University Lady Bulldogs commenced the UAAP Season 79 Women’s Basketball Tournament second round in typical fashion as they eased to a 92-53 win at the University of the East Lady Warriors’ expense.
Afril Bernardino led NU with 26 points today at FilOil Flying V Arena in San Juan City. Bernardino was followed Gemma Miranda who produced 24 points and 10 rebounds, and Jack Aminam who made 15 points and 20 rebounds.
“The domination of Afril and Gemma. They were on the groove. Those two players and especially Jack who was getting all the rebounds. Those players leading you all the way makes you feel at ease, “ commented NU mentor Patrick Aquino after the game.
Similar to both schools’ first round encounter, the Lady Bulldogs earned a 49-29 cushion above the Lady Warriors at the break.
Unlike that previous game, though, NU didn’t allow UE to create a run which would have kickstarted a potential comeback.
“We have to dictate every situation we can take advantage of. One advantage that we took away from them was Tacula. I think she scored only 14 points, in the first game she has more,” stated Aquino.
Miranda’s basket gave the Lady Bulldogs a 66-36 lead over the Lady Warriors late in the third quarter as NU created a 72-43 deficit going into the fourth quarter.
A 10-0 run capped off by Samantha Harada’s trey then enabled the Lady Bulldogs to have its biggest lead of the game at 91-49 early at the 1:21 mark of the fourth quarter with NU prevailing 92-53 over UE.
Aquino’s squad won today courtesy of their 53 rebounds compared to UE’s 36. That mastery of the boards allowed the Lady Bulldogs to come up with 23 second chance points, well above the Lady Warriors’ 3.
Aquino explained, “That was what we lacked in the first round against UE. We tried to limit their offensive and defensive rebounds. We tried to be aggressive on the boards.”
Three point shooting also helped NU, as they shot 36.84 percent from beyond the arc while UE only had 15.38 percent.
Up next for NU (8-0) will be Ateneo de Manila University on October 15, 8:00 AM at the Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City. On the other hand, UE (5-3) shall face Far Eastern University on October 18, 8:00 AM at the FilOil Arena.
“We’ll try to be ready with that Ateneo press and everything they got. We’ll view games about what happened in the first round and hopefully we can get the next win again. Basta ready lang kami,” concluded the 2016 SEABA champion coach.
The Scores:
NU (92) – Bernardino 26, Miranda 24, Animam 15, Del Carmen 13, Harada 4, Ceno 3, Camelo 3, Nabalan 2, Itesi 2, Layug 0, Taneza 0, Malana 0, Rebadulla 0.
UE (55) – Sto. Domingo 19, Tacula 14, Mendina 7, Chan 7, Ramos 4, Francisco 2, Relova 2, Gayacao 0, Requiron 0.
Quarterscores: 24-17, 49-29, 72-43, 92-55.
