Lady Archers prevail in tug-of-war with Ateneo
The De La Salle University (DLSU) Lady Archers gained their second win for UAAP Season 85 Women’s Basketball Tournament, defeating the Ateneo de Manila University (ADMU) Blue Eagles, 75–67, yesterday, October 9, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
La Salle had just narrowly lost against University of Santo Tomas (UST) prior to the game and the Lady Archers have yet to make a significant impact or establish a victory streak. The Taft school needed to recover significantly, and they have just done so with a win against the Ateneo Blue Eagles, with their headstrong defense right from the beginning as well as consecutive jump shots putting them on the lead. Though, this overconfidence cost them a lost on their stability resulting to traveling calls, missed passes, and turnovers that weren’t in their favor. But with the Blue Eagles catching up to an 11-all score, DLSU’s Kreecie Binaohan and Luisa De La Paz broke the tension and gave a back-to-back three-point shot, finishing the first quarter 19–12 to their advantage.
By this time, the team from Katipunan is feeling an all time low, having difficulty on breaking the streak of the Ladies bearing Green and White as the momentum for the Lady Archers continued. With another three from Binaohan opening the second quarter, the team boosted their pressed plays on their offense which birthed their biggest lead at 10, 22–12. Even with the successful teamwork of Jhazmin Joson and Kacey Dela Rosa to recover, Charmine Torres slammed that hope with a floater, still putting them at front with 36–33 at halftime.
Come the second half, it was a push-and-pull between both teams, exchanging the lead. The Lady Archers showed an aggressive play, delivering their offensive strategies efficiently including driving to the basket and throwing long shots from outside the arch. The boldness applied to their defense play as well, but the Taft-based team became too determined, catching themselves on penalty, with still over six minutes on the clock. Ateneo took advantage of this and closed the score to a one, but both Sario and De La Paz kept La Salle in front. The Katipunan-based squad was adamant and caught up with consecutive triples by the end of the quarter, 56–53, but still to the advantage of the Lady Archers.
The air was even thicker as both teams were still on tug-of-war for majority of the quarter. At the 1:50 mark, Joson scored a layup after a steal to pull Ateneo to only within a three-point gap, 67–70, but Sario scored a crucial triple to widen DLSU’s advantage back to six. Sario then was able to hit two late free throws to seal the game, 75–67.
Sario finished the game with 19 points, featuring 11 in the fourth quarter, 11 rebounds, three assists, and three steals — all of which significantly aided the Lady Archers’ eventual break from the Blue Eagles.
From this victory, the DLSU Lady Archers will face the UE Lady Warriors in a fight to keep their spot in the winning bracket of this season. The game will commence on October 12, Wednesday, at the UST Quadricentennial Pavilion.
Boxscores:
DLSU 75 — Sario 19, Niantcho 13, Torres 12, Binaohan 10, De La Paz 6, Arciga 5, Ahmed 4, Dalisay 3, Espinas 2, Jimenez 1, Camba 0.
ADMU 67 — Dela Rosa 21, Joson 14, Miranda 9, Eufemiano 8, Calago 7, Nieves 6, Makanjuola 2, Jajurie 0, Villacruz 0, Gino-Gino 0.
Quarterscores: 19–12, 36–33, 56–53, 75–67
