LUISA San Juan tied the UAAP event record for most three-pointers made in a single game, propelling De La Salle University to an 89-65 victory over Far Eastern University, marking their first win in the UAAP Season 87 Collegiate Women’s Basketball Tournament on Wednesday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
San Juan made history in the women’s division by sinking 10 triples, breaking the previous record held by former Lady Archer Khate Castillo, who hit eight three-pointers in a 67-60 loss to Adamson University on October 29, 2017.
In addition to setting a new women’s division record, the third-year Filipino-British guard also tied the overall UAAP event record for most three-pointers in a game.
She now shares the honor with National University’s Jeff Napa, who achieved the feat against Adamson in UAAP Season 65 on August 22, 2002, and University of the East’s Allan Caidic, who accomplished the same in Season 48 back in 1985.
San Juan capped off her stellar performance with 34 points, matching the season-high set by Ateneo’s Kacey dela Rosa in her game against University of the Philippines on September 8.
“I got my confidence from my teammates and my coaches. They believe in me, and the trust that they give me, ‘yun ang pinaka malaking bagay for me,” the 22-year-old said. “I don’t know the records, but I’m grateful. I wasn’t expecting that, I just do my role and I think it starts with kung ano pinapagawa samin ni Coach Cholo (Villanueva).”
More importantly, her historic performance resulted in the Lady Archers’ breakthrough win for the season, at the expense of the also 1-4 Lady Tamaraws.
(C) UAAP Season 87 Media Team
Despite seeing their 16-point lead trimmed to as low as four points in the fourth quarter, the trio of San Juan, Tricia Mendoza, and Kyla Sunga sparked a blistering 18-2 spurt to seal La Salle’s first victory.
During that rally, San Juan knocked down the event-record-tying three-pointer from the right wing with 12 seconds left, giving La Salle an 88-63 lead.
“We’re breaking records dito sa program of the Lady Archers, pero seriously, it’s a good win for us. The grit that I wanted to see from the girls, they showed it today,” said Lady Archers head coach Cholo Villanueva, who also coached Castillo back in UAAP Season 80, while praising his Lady Archers for bouncing back after a humbling 47-65 loss to UE that ended the Lady Warriors’ 40-game losing streak just three days prior.
The Lady Tamaraws initially led the game early, 5-2, but a dominant 25-10 first-quarter performance by La Salle showed that it would be the San Juan and Lady Archers’ show from there on out.
(C) UAAP Season 87 Media Team
Supporting San Juan’s record-setting night were Mendoza and Sunga, who both registered double-doubles. Mendoza contributed 16 points and 15 rebounds, while Sunga added 14 points and 15 boards.
La Salle will now look to build on this momentum and secure a second straight win when they face reigning champion University of Santo Tomas on Sunday at the Big Dome.
Meanwhile, MJ Manguiat led the Lady Tamaraws with 19 points on 35-percent shooting, while Shane Salvani chipped in 13 points.
FEU, now on a two-game skid, aims to bounce back when they take on Ateneo also on Saturday.
The Scores:
DLSU 89 – San Juan 34, Mendoza 16, Sunga 14, Sario 9, Paraiso 4, Dela Paz 3, Rodriguez 3, Santos 3, Barcierto 2, Camba 1, Delos Reyes 0, Villava-Cua 0.
FEU 65 – Manguiat 19, Salvani 13, Lopez 8, Dela Torre 7, Ong 7, Gavaran 5, Villanueva 2, Nagma 2, Paras 2, Pasilang 0, Libor 0.
Quarterscores: 25-10, 42-33, 60-52, 89-65.
