National University Nazareth School cruised to its fourth straight win after a 20-point rout of De La Salle Zobel, 82-62, moving to the cusp of a Finals berth in the UAAP Season 88 Girls’ Basketball Tournament, Sunday morning at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium in Manila.
Fresh off a breakthrough victory against defending champions University of Santo Tomas Growling Tigresses last week, the Lady Bullpups had to weather the Junior Lady Archers’ first-half firepower before leaning on MVP frontrunner Zaydhen Rosano, Aubrey Lapasaran, and Ruiza Olmos for a crucial second-half rally that kept them unbeaten through four games.
Lapasaran finished with 14 points, six assists, five steals, and four rebounds, while Rosano added 14 points, six assists, four rebounds, and three steals for NUNS.
With the win, the Lady Bullpups moved just one victory away from a coveted Finals ticket. They only need to beat the still-winless Ateneo de Manila University Blue Eagles on February 25, Sunday, at the Blue Eagle Gym to advance to the best-of-three championship round for the second straight season.
(C) UAAP Season 88 Media Team
“Mas marami pa kailangan gawin at paghandaan sa practice kasi nakikita namin unti-unti kung ano ‘man yung kailangan namin gawin at i-focus para makapasok na sa Finals,” NUNS head coach Ai Lebornio said.
The Lady Bullpups quickly turned a slim 25-21 second-quarter lead into a 14-point, 44-30 advantage, but the Junior Lady Archers responded with back-to-back layups to stay within striking distance at 44-34 by halftime.
DLSZ remained within arm’s reach in the third period, trailing by just 60-50, but NUNS broke the game wide open with a decisive 14-3 run—capped by a Zane Singson inside hit, five straight points from Lapasaran, and a Rosano layup—to build a 21-point, 74-53 cushion with 6:58 left in the contest.
That pivotal surge proved to be the difference, as two consecutive layups by Olmos pushed the Junior Lady Archers deeper into a 78-57 hole with less than four minutes remaining—allowing the Lady Bullpups to complete a season sweep of DLSZ following their 95-45 first-round win last January 22.
“Yung relaxed factor, meron kami ganon nung first quarter kaya kinailangan namin maka-recover. ‘Yon pa yung sakit namin sa team na ito na kailangan after the big game aganist UST, kailangan sa susunod na game, same pa rin. Hopefully, maayos namin ito,” Lebornio added.
Olmos registered a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds, along with one steal and one assist, while Inday Sales also scored 11 points to go with two steals and one assist.
Singson added seven points, nine rebounds, three assists, three steals, and one block, while Hasly Mallari and Angelika Agad chipped in six points each in the wire-to-wire triumph.
(C) UAAP Season 88 Media Team
For the Junior Lady Archers, who remained in third place but slipped to a 1-3 record, Ima Navarro once again led the fight with 22 points, six rebounds, and one block, while Bing Padigos contributed 12 points, six rebounds, and one block.
Apyang Dulay tallied nine points, seven rebounds, two assists, and two steals, while Stef Contreras and Ching Ching Gales added seven points apiece.
DLSZ looks to return to the win column when it faces UST on February 21, Saturday, still at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
The Scores:
NUNS (82) – Lapasaran 14, Rosano 14, Olmos 11, Sales 11, Singson 7, Mallari 6, Agad 6, Biongcog 4, Katigbak 4, Badajos 3, Luzana 2, Onate 0, Cordero 0, Arciaga 0.
DLSZ (62) – Navarro 22, Padigos 12, Dulay 9, Contreras 7, Gales 7, Martinez 2, Gerona 2, Winar 1, Ogario 0.
Quarterscores: 23-19, 44-34, 64-50, 82-62.
