UAAP: NU overcomes Lady Archers’ late rally, sweeps eliminations

In the battle between the top two teams in the tournament, the NU Lady Bulldogs were able escape the gritty DLSU Lady Archers, 75-71, behind clutch free throws from Shelley Gupilan, earlier today at the UST Gym.

NU’s Gemma Miranda was a force inside the paint, dropping 23 points on 10/14 shooting. Andrea Tongco and Gupilan added 13 and 12 markers respectively in a game that saw them automatically qualifying into the finals with a thrice-to-beat advantage due to winning all their elimination round games.

The Lady Archers held a seven point advantage heading into the closing minutes of the first quarter after a long two from Jonah Melendres. NU then released an 8-0 run to grab the lead, 17-16, to end the first.

The Lady Bulldogs went on attack mode once again in the second period, outscoring the Taft-based cagebelles 15-6 behind the efforts of Miranda and Gupilan. The Lady Archers struggled with turnovers and poor shooting due to NU’s height advantage. They were down 12 points for a certain stretch during the quarter. The first half finished with NU leading by 10, 36-26.

It was the Lady Archers’ turn to heat up in the opening of the second half, dropping a barrage of three-pointers to claw their way back up from a double digit deficit. They hit five rainbow shots in total during the third quarter and sparked several runs that allowed that allowed to get as close as a one point deficit. NU was able to hold on to a two point lead, 59-57, before the start of the final quarter. The final quarter, as opposed to the third, was a defensive contest. No team could pull away from the other as every basket put up by one team would be countered immediately by the opposing team. Cass Santos was able to give DLSU the lead, 71-70, by banking two free-throws. Miranda, however, immediately scored on the other end to take back the lead for the Lady Bulldogs.

Gupilan was then fouled after the Lady Archers failed to convert on the offensive possession. She split her first trip to the free throw line but an offensive rebound sent her to the line once more. She banked both free throws to finalize NU’s elimination round sweep.

Trisha Piatos had 15 points in the losing effort while Jonah Melndres added 14. With the results of today’s games, DLSU will square off against the victors of the UST/FEU quarterfinal clash with a twice-to-beat advantage. NU, on the other hand, will take on whoever wins the stepladder semifinals with a thrice-to-beat advantage in the championship matches.

The scores:

NU (75)– Miranda 23, Tongco 13, Gupilan 12, Bernardino 9, Abriam 8, Nabalan 4, Escoto 2, Paig 2, Sison 2, Antiquiera 0, Castro 0.

DLSU (71)– Piatos 15, Melendres 14, A. Ong 11, Corcuera 9, Claro 8, M.Ong 6, Santos 6, Garcia 2, Vergara 0, Scott 0, Castillo 0.

Quarter Scores: 16-17, 10-19, 31-24, 14-15