Former Lady Falcon Kaye Pingol proved to be a thorn on her former team’s side as she provided the spark for the National University Lady Bulldogs in a 92-62 victory of the Adamson University Lady Falcons, Wednesday morning at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.
Pingol, who towed the Lady Falcons to fourth-place back in the UAAP Season 81 Women’s Basketball Tournament, was a starter for the first-time with NU. And she did not disappoint finishing with 14 points on 6-for-9 shooting and six steals.
“She had a good game. Yung sinabi namin na gawin niya, ginawa naman niya. Good thing is she’s mixing well na now sa first five,” beamed decorated head coach Patrick Aquino. “Ever since she got here kasi, we weren’t starting her. Hopefully… She still has bad habits but I’m hoping that she continues what she’s doing.”
Wanting to prove a point, Pingol surged in the second quarter, scoring seven points to help give NU a comfortable 17-point cushion heading into the second half.
But it was not just Pingol who had a hand in giving NU its 69th straight win via another convincing rout.
Ria Nabalan had 16 points and eight rebounds in 18 minutes of action. The twin tower combination of Jack Animam and Rhena Itesi tallied 14 points and seven rebounds and 13 points and 10 rebounds, respectively. Je-anne Camelo provided bench support with 12 points.
“I’m just happy that yung game nila improved. For the past four games, they were playing stiff,” said Aquino.
“Siguro, nararamdaman na nila yung pressure so we tried something different this time. We made them relax and ni-lessen namin yung pressure,” he added as the Lady Bulldogs are jsut three wins away from tying the UAAP collegiate level record for most consecutive wins.
Besides expressing delight from the outcome of the game, Aquino could not help but be happy for Adamson head coach Ewon Arayi, a former player of his in Perlas Pilipinas.
“I’m happy for Ewon. Parang passion niya yan,” expressed Aquino. “I know she’ll have a good program. I hope and wish her good luck. I think she recruited very good players and is starting a good program. Maraming matututunan yung mga bata sa kanya with her experience.”
The Lady Falcons, who fell to 2-3, were led by Tin Camacho who had 17 points but was forced to commit nine turnovers. Nathalia Prado was limited to just 16 points on 6-for-16 shooting and nine rebounds.
NU will next face the UE Red Warriors in a rematch of last season’s Finals on Saturday, October 6 at the SMART-Araneta Coliseum. Adamson, on the other hand, looks to bounce back on the same day at the expense of the Ateneo Lady Eagles.
The Scores
NU 92 – Nabalan 16, Pingol 14, Animam 14, Itesi 13, Camelo 12, Goto 8, Del Carmen 6, Bartolo 4, Ceno 3, Fabruada 2, Canuto 0, Cac 0, Cacho 0, Harada 0, Layug 0
ADU 62 – Camacho 17, Prado 16, Alcoy 10, Razalo 7, Rosario 3, Osano 3, Araja 2, Cacho 2, Bilbao 2, Tandaan 0, Cabug 0, Aciro 0
Quarterscores: 19-11, 43-26, 68-41, 92-62
