UE bounces back, pounces on outplayed UST

Fresh from their opening day loss against reigning champions National University Lady Bulldogs, the University of the East Lady Warriors bounced back in the best way possible with a 74-57 win over the University of Santo Tomas Growling Tigresses.

Love Sto. Domingo led the Lady Warriors with with 20 points and she was followed Eunique Chan who produced 13 markers in what became UE’s first win of their UAAP Season 79 Women’s Basketball campaign today at the Araneta Coliseum.

“Yung enjoy, kasi hindi sila nag-enjoy nung naglaro kami sa NU. Masyadong silang tight. Pigil na pigil yung laro namin pagdating sa NU game namin eh. Hindi ko alam kung takot or what kaya yan yung mas tinutukan namin ngayon,” said Lady Warriors mentor Aileen Lebornio.

The Lady Warriors’ enjoyment was evident from tip-off as they raced to a 39-19 lead over the Growling Tigresses at halftime. It just became a case of maintaining their dominance over UST in the third period.

Come the fourth quarter, though, UST tried to start a comeback with six minutes left as they were able to cut the deficit to 13 points. However, a Sto. Domingo basket extinguished the fire with and she later sealed the win with a trey to extend UE’s lead to 21 points deep in the period.

In the end, UE prevailed over UST courtesy of a 74-57 result.

Lebornio eloquently explained what she wanted the Lady Warriors to do during the game.

“Mag-enjoy sila sa loob ng court. Hindi sila dapat maging desusi. Dapat yung lahat ng gagawin nila is naaayon sa sistema namin,” she said.

Perhaps the statistic which tells the game’s tale is the field goal percentage. UE shot 40.54 percent compared to UST’s 33 percent. Another telling number is that UE manned the boards better with 50 rebounds while UST had 40. Misaela Larosa led UST with 18 points.

Up next for the Lady Warriors (1-1) will be the University of the Philippines Lady Maroons (0-1) on September 14, 8:00 at the SM Mall of Asia Arena. Likewise, UST’s (0-2) next game will be against UP on September 17, 8:00AM at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.

The Scores:

UE (74) – Sto. Domingo 20, Chan 13, Tacula 9, Ramos 9, Requiron 9, Francisco 8, Gayacao 4, Mendina 2, Relova 0, Nama 0.

UST (57) – Larosa 18, Anies 11, Peñaflor 11, Felisarta 7, Aujero 4, Capilit 2, Rivera 2, Gandalla 2, Portillo 0, Magdaluyo 0, Manuel 0, Jerez 0, Angeles 0.

Quarterscores: 25-13, 39-19, 57-40, 74-57.