Defending champion University of Santo Tomas delivered a first-quarter masterpiece, setting the tone for their dominant 70-52 victory over De La Salle University, securing their spot in the UAAP Season 87 Collegiate Women’s Basketball stepladder semifinals on Saturday at the Filoil EcoOil Centre.
The Growling Tigresses stunned the Lady Archers by limiting them to just three points in the opening period, with La Salle shooting a dismal 1-of-14 from the field.
Meanwhile, UST posted an impressive 20 points in the first quarter alone.
“We wanted to emphasize on our team defense and I’m happy na ‘yung mga ginawa namin for the past week nakuha ng mga bata,” said UST head coach Haydee Ong. “They really gave La Salle a hard time in the first quarter.”
(C) UAAP Season 87 Media Team
The second-seeded Growling Tigresses finished the eliminations with a 12-2 record and are riding a three-game winning streak.
They will now wait for the winner of the match-up between the Adamson Lady Falcons and the Ateneo Blue Eagles.
The victor will advance to face National University, which secured an automatic Finals berth after completing a 14-game sweep of the eliminations.
Tacky Tacatac led UST’s offensive charge with 14 points, all scored in the first half, while Kent Pastrana contributed across the board with 10 points, six rebounds, and six assists.
“Nag-base talaga kami sa training namin. Coming into the Final Four, umpisa na kung ano yung trabaho namin, kaya nagpukpok kami sa training. Nagtulungan kami kung anong dapat itama sa defense kasi doon kami nagkukulang,” said Pastrana.
(C) UAAP Season 87 Media Team
Brigette Santos and Koi Danganan also played key roles, each adding nine points in a balanced scoring effort that saw UST dominate the paint, 30-14, and bench points, 33-10.
Luisa San Juan led La Salle with 15 points, but the Lady Archers ended their season with a 4-10 record, finishing in sixth place.
It was also the final game for Bettina Binaohan and Bernice Paraiso in La Salle’s jersey.
The Scores:
UST 70 – Tacatac 14, Pastrana 10, Santos 9, Danganan 9, Sierba 7, Maglupay 6, Reliquette 5, Ambos 2, Amatong 2, Bron 2, Soriano 0, Pineda 0, Serrano 0, Pescador 0.
DLSU 52 – San Juan 15, Sario 9, Binaohan 8, Sunga 7, Dela Paz 6, Mendoza 3, Santos 2, Dalisay 1, Paraiso 1, Bacierto 0, Camba 0.
Quarterscores: 20-3, 39-23, 57-38, 70-52.
