National University exemplified the heart of a true champion, digging deep against University of Santo Tomas, taking a 76-64 triumph to bounce back in the UAAP Season 86 Women’s Basketball Tournament on Wednesday at the Adamson University Gym.
The Lady Bulldogs, seven-time defending champions, hit two birds with one stone. They snapped the Growling Tigresses’ three-game winning streak while averting the experience of back-to-back losses for the first time in 11 years.
For NU coach Aris Dimaunahan, the victory was made sweeter by the fact that his players showed their character to secure the win.
“We just told the girls to just learn from the UP game and move forward and focus our attention on UST,” he said. “I thought we did a great job on the preparation and on the commitment of the players to do the game plan to the letter. Proud of these girls for coming back after a loss.”
NU relied on a third-quarter surge to pull away from UST. The Lady Bulldogs, who were up by just three points at halftime, had players like Karl Pingol, Gyspy Canuto, Camille Clarin, Tin Cayabyab, and Angel Surada scoring baskets to earn a 59-45 cushion with a minute left in the period.
Rhocel Bartolo, Karl Pingol, and Tin Cayabyab then combined to give the Lady Bulldogs their biggest lead in the game at 66-48 with over seven minutes remaining in the game.
“Our team was so concerned about getting a win right away in the first half,” said Dimaunahan. “We were kind of gigil na gigil and wanting to win right away. We just told them to just settle and focus more and do our game plan. I love how they responded because, again, these girls are all winners. They always want to win.”
Pingol led NU with 13 points, four rebounds, three assists, and two steals,. Meanwhile, Joinaba Konateh, who suffered a bad fall with four minutes left, neared a double-double with 12 points and nine rebounds.
Angel Surada contributed 11 points, 11 rebounds, four assists, and had a plus-16 on the floor. Camille Clarin added 10 points, four rebounds, and four steals.
Stefanie Berberabe made her long-awaited debut for NU in the UAAP. She scored just three points but contributed six assists, five rebounds, and four steals for the Lady Bulldogs.
The Lady Bulldogs scored 42 inside points compared to the Growling Tigresses’ 26. NU had 31 bench points, while UST had 20.
NU will look to build on this win when it takes on De La Salle University this Sunday at 9:00 AM at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.
Kent Pastrana bounced back from her previous showing last Sunday against De La Salle University, leading the Growling Tigresses with 18 points.
Tantoy Ferrer had 17 points and six rebounds, while Tacky Tacatac had 15 points and four assists.
Reigning MVP Eka Soriano had an off game, producing just two points, three rebounds, three assists, two steals, but also four turnovers.
UST will seek to bounce back when it faces the University of the Philippines this Saturday at 11:00 AM at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.
The Scores:
NU 76 – Pingol 13, Konateh 12, Surada 11, Clarin 10, Cayabyab 8, Canuto 7, Betanio 5, Bartolo 4, Berberabe 3, Fabruada 3.
UST 64 – Pastrana 18, Ferrer 17, Tacatac 15, Dionisio 8, Soriano 2, Ambos 2, Bron 2, Santos 0, Villasin 0, Maglupay 0, Ly 0, Serrano 0.
Quarterscores: 14-20, 39-36, 59-46, 76-64.
