After a dismal opening round campaign, last season’s finalists University of the East Lady Warriors made sure to notify the league that they are not yet out.
Up against a highly-touted De La Salle University Lady Archers squad, the UAAP Season 80 Women’s Basketball silver medalist had their best outing of the season, scoring an 86-69 rout, Wednesday morning at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.
The Lady Warriors snapped a three-game losing skid with the victory. But more than that, they were able to get back their close 61-64 loss to the Lady Archers last September 19 to lift their slate to 2-6.
“Ang sabi ko naman sa mga bata, yung skills nagagawa namin. Nandun kami as coaches para i-develop yun. Pero kung gusto nila makuha yung kumpyansa, kumuha kayo ng isang malaking win,” said long-time Lady Warriors head coach Aileen Lebornio, as their sole win in the first round was a 49-40 win over the UP Lady Maroons last September 26.
“Mas pangarapin dapat nila yun. Hindi puwedeng training lang ng training pero hindi magagamit sa game. Sinabi ko rin na nung first round, tinalo kayo ng three points sa La Salle kaya bigyan natin sila ng magandang laro,” she added.
Forward Anna Requiron led the Lady Warriors with a statline of 22 points, 15 rebounds, five blocks, and three steals.
“Si Anna, sa tagal ng pinagsamahan namin, alam ko fighter talaga yan. Mas malaki pinagbago niya this year dahil isa na siya sa mga leaders namin,” said the product of Lyceum of the Philippines University.
Together with the duo of Tin Cortizano and Ann Pedrogosa, Requiron powered the Lady Warriors to a 27-point second quarter to give UE the lead for good.
She did not stop there, as the Lady Warriors limited the Lady Archers to just 10 points in the third canto. UE would lead by as much as 22 points late in the game, 86-64.
“Ako, mas excited ako ngayon dahil hindi ko alam lalaruin nila. Sabi ko nga sa kanila, mas excited ako sa susunod na laro dahil alam ko na meron pa silang ilalabas,” beamed Lebornio.
Cortizano added 21 points for UE, while Joyce Francisco chipped in 13 markers built on three triples.
La Salle, who dropped to 5-3, were led by the backcourt of Khate Castillo and Camille Claro. Catillo had 17 points while Claro added 15 points, five assists, and three steals. Rookie Angel Quingco had 14 points and nine rebounds.
La Salle shot just 34-percent from the field – 17-percent lower than the hot-shooting UE.
UE will look to build on this win as they face the Adamson University Lady Falcons on Sunday, October 21, at the Filoil Flying V Centre. On the other hand, La Salle take on the history-seeking National University Lady Bulldogs on Saturday, October 20, at the SMART-Araneta Coliseum.
The Scores:
UE (86) – Requiron 22, Cortizano 21, Francisco 13, Pedregosa A. 9, Pedregosa P. 8, Cuadero 7, Ganade 4, Nama 2, Borromeo 0.
DLSU (69) – Castillo 17, Claro 15, Quingco 14, Torres 7, Arciga 5, Revillosa 4, Paraiso 4, Nunez 3, Binaoha 0, Del Ocampo 0, Jimenez 0.
Quarterscores: 23-25, 50-39, 67-49, 86-69
