Second half surge propels NU over DLSU

The National University Lady Bulldogs extended their winning streak to 36 games with a 72-59 victory over the De La Salle University Lady Archers in the UAAP Season 79 Women’s Basketball Tournament.

Season 78 MVP Afril Bernardino led NU with 22 points and 13 rebounds and she was followed by Gemma Miranda who produced 17 points and 10 rebounds in the Araneta Coliseum.

It was a tight start to the game as the Lady Archers led 35-37 over the Lady Bulldogs.

“At halftime I said, you have to go back to basics and don’t rush things. We tried to go with their flow of the game. Sabi ko tayo dapat nag-didictate ng flow ng game,” narrated Lady Bulldogs mentor Pat Aquino.

Come the third quarter, though, the Lady Bulldogs came good. Miranda capped off a 7-0 run which game NU a 42-37 lead. Although La Salle got back into the game, NU had the momentum they needed to clinch the game.

Miranda then closed another run for NU to give the Lady Bulldogs a 55-48 advantage over the Lady Archers heading into the final period.

However, La Salle isn’t a team to give up and an 11-0 run started and ended by Snow Peñaranda gave the Lady Archers a 55-59 cushion over the Lady Bulldogs.

After that La Salle run, though, came the NU surge. Monique Del Carmen commenced an incredible 17-0 run to win the game for the Lady Bulldogs.

The Lady Archers had no answer for every Lady Bulldogs basket and were left powerless to stop the NU onslaught as the Jhocson-based squad won 72-59.

For Aquino, there was only one thing which made the Lady Bulldogs clinch the game.

“The relentless defense,” he shared. “If you play good defense, easy offense on us. That’s what happened. You play good defense, easy basket for us.”

That NU defense made La Salle only shoot 34.38 percent from the field compared to their 40.91 percent. In addition to their field goal percentage, NU manned the boards better with 48 rebounds compared to La Salle’s 36.

Up next for NU (3-0) will be the University of the Philippines Lady Maroons (0-4) on October 1, 8:00AM while the La Salle (2-1) shall play against the University of Santo Tomas Growling Tigresses (1-2) on September 21, 10:00AM. Both games will be at the Mall of Asia Arena.

The Scores:

NU (72) – Bernardino 22, Miranda 17, Del Carmen 10, Nabalan 9, Aminam 9, Camelo 3, Itesi 2, Ceno 0, Harada 0, Layug 0.

DLSU (59) – Castillo 13, Revillosa 13, Peñaranda 9, Roxas 9, Claro 8, Arciga 4, Vergara 3, Vela 0, Nunez 0, Dagdagan 0.

Quarterscores: 20-18, 35-37, 55-48, 72-59.