UAAP: Lady Archers triumph over UST in first round finale

The DLSU Lady Archers ended their first round campaign on a high note after defeating the UST Growling Tigresses, 67-56, last Sunday, October 4, at the Blue Eagle Gym in Quezon City.

Ara Abaca spearheaded the Lady Archers’ attack with an all-around performance of 14 points, 12 rebounds, and five assists. Ana Castillo and Camille Claro helped ease the scoring load by scoring 13 and 12 points, respectively. Team captain Alyanna Ong also added 10 points in their team’s sixth straight victory.

The Lady Tigresses were led by center Maica Cortes, who had a double-double performance of 13 points and 12 rebounds. Teammate Bettina Penaflor had 12 points and 9 rebounds in only 17 minutes of play, while Maneli Isanan came off the bench to contribute 11 points and 13 rebounds in the loss.

With the win, La Salle currently holds 6-1 win-loss record, good for second place heading into the second round of eliminations. They trail the undefeated NU Lady Bulldogs for first place and are ahead of third-placers UST and UE by two games.

In the first quarter, the Lady Archers raced to a 10-point lead, 20-10, over a fancied UST defense. The España-based squad, however, refused to give up without a fight. They cut the deficit to just four by the end of the half, 29-25, and were only trailing by one point at the end of the third quarter, 44-43. Not wanting an upset, the Taft-based team went on another run, outscoring their opponents by 10 in the final quarter to grab hold of the win.

DLSU’s preference for team play showed in the game, as the team dished out 19 assists compared to UST’s six. The Lady Tigresses had a huge advantage in rebounds after tallying 67 in total, with 26 coming off the offensive end, as compared to the Lady Archers’ 48 rebounds. Despite the disparity on the glass, the Green-and-White squad shackled their rivals into committing 30 turnovers for the game.

The Lady Archers will resume action next week, October 11, to begin their second round campaign.

The scores:

DLSU (67)- Abaca 14, Castillo 13, Claro 12, Ong 10, Revillosa 6, Vela 4, Dagdagan 3, Penaranda 3, Vergarra 2, Roxas 0, Arciga 0, Oyao 0.

UST (56)- Cortes 13, Penaflor 12, Isanan 11, Angeles 10, Anes 5, Larosa 4, Britante 1, Magdaluyo 0, Felisarta 0, Gandalla 0, Jerez 0, Capilit 0.

Quarterscores: 20-10, 29-25, 44-43, 67-56