In a rot which felt like forever, the Ateneo de Manila University Lady Eagles finally ended their six-game losing streak with a 56-49 victory against archrivals De La Salle University Lady Archers.
Despite the two teams’ dire campaigns, there was more than pride at stake as a ticket to the UAAP Season 80 Women’s Basketball Tournament post-season dance was still possible.
“Gameplan! All about the gameplan,” commented Ateneo coach John Flores. “In the first two quarters we weren’t executing it as much as we did and then in the third quarter and the fourth that’s when we really started to following the gameplan.
“Overall it was the toughness we were looking for. End-game toughness,” added Flores.
Jollina Go stepped up for the Lady Eagles today at the FilOil Flying V Centre which 14 points of which 11 came from the fourth quarter. Hazelle Yam followed Go’s lead with 12 baskets while Katrina Guytingco and Tina Deacon got 10 rebounds each for the Katipunan school.
With the game hanging on the balance at 41-41 early in the final period, Ateneo went on an 8-2 run capped off by Yam’s three to lead 49-43 and set the Lady Eagles on their way to victory.
Kat Nuñez then converted three unanswered points to trim the deficit to 46-49, only for Go to retaliate at the other end with a four-point play to hand Ateneo its biggest lead of the ballgame at 53-46 with 2:49 remaining on the clock.
“It’s an ordinary day for Jollina. Ang importante is the way she defended, how she lessened her turnovers. Those are the most important things. The points they’re nothing special. She can do better, but we want her to concentrate on the defensive side and play smarter,” explained Flores.
La Salle could have so easily gotten back in the game, but the Lady Archers botched easy baskets which allowed Ateneo to hold on for a 56-49 result to inch closer to a ticket for the Final Four.
Rebounds were the big difference for Ateneo against La Salle. The Lady Eagles got 46 boards compared to La Salle’s 36. The Lady Eagles also capitalized more on their charities as they shot 70,59 percent from the line while the Lady Archers only made 55 percent.
Nuñez led La Salle with 16 points. Today was also La Salle’s third consecutive defeat this season.
Both schools’ next games will be on October 25 at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City. Ateneo (3-6) hopes to add another win against University of Santo Tomas at 10:00 AM while La Salle (2-7) will gun for a big upset against defending champions National University earlier at 8:00 AM.
“If we’re able to close out this game the way we did, we should do better against UST compared to the last time. I think it’s closing out games that we really need to work on,” concluded Flores.
The Scores:
ADMU (56) – Go 14, Yam 12, Villamor 9, Buendia 7, Guytingco 4, Uy de Ong 4, Deacon 2, Joson 2, Morelos 2, Newsome 0, Cancio 0.
DLSU (49) – Nunez 16, Castillo 9, Vergara 7, Del Campo 6, Paraiso 3, Dagdagan 3, Figueroa 3, Arciga 2, Jimenez 0, Torres 0, Javier 0, Malarde 0.
Quarterscores: 9-10, 20-26, 34-36, 56-49
