The DLSU Lady Archers showed composure against the Lady Eagles in another matchup to nab a 48-45 win in the UAAP Season 75 Women’s Basketball at the Arena in San Juan last August 31.
The Lady Archers relied on the scoring trio in Hannah Viterbo, Trisha Piatos and Ara Abaca as the three tightened their hold to bring the Taft-based squad at third place with a 7-3 record.
Defense is the key
All throughout the game, the Lady Archers banked on zone defense and traps to hold down the Blue-and-White offense.
Ateneo’s Sarah Mercado was her usual self, scoring 16 points, but teammate Denice Tiu, who registered 11 markers in the first encounter, was scoreless.
The Green-and-White squad was, however, hampered by fouls because of the team’s offensive strategy. Abaca and Kady Wilson had to take unwanted rest as they picked up their respective fourth fouls late in the third and early in the fourth, leaving the Bautista-mentored squad’s frontline vulnerable.
The second stringers shouldered the burden that came from the weak frontline. They, however, managed to maintain a tight defense to keep Ateneo at bay. The Green-and-White guards also actively dove for loose balls, and chased the Lady Eagles for steals.
“In the end, it was still our defense, we played good zone defense, [and] I think we were able to contain their (Ateneo) shooters,” said Lady Archers Head Coach Tyrone Bautista.
Breaking away
In the early plays in the opening quarter, the Taft-based squad seemed to be disorganized as Ateneo outscored the team, 14-11.
In the second period, Viterbo fired up two consecutive triples to push ahead by five. With some key stops and exchange of baskets, the Green-and-White ladies turned the three point deficit into a three point lead, going into the half.
Heading into the third canto, Lady Eagles refueled and gave the Lady Archers a run for its money. Abaca could not make shots in this period as she had already incurred three fouls early in the third.
She did, however, manage to chip in couple of points before receiving her fourth foul in the closing minutes of the third frame.
With Abaca down and Viterbo unable to connect balls to the basket, Piatos had to drive into the difficult middle lane to better the numbers. Nikki Garcia also had a number of hustle plays to encourage the Lady Archers.
The ladies in green and white ignited a 7-2 run to open the final period, good enough to keep the team’s opponent at bay minutes before the fourth quarter ended.
With 1:11 minutes remaining, the Lady Eagles started a run for the win, and cut the lead to two after a right corner jumper, which forced the Lady Archer’s coaching staff to call for time.
Unfortunately, the Lady Archers failed to convert shots into baskets, and left the door open for the Lady Eagles, but the Archers’ defense shot Katipunan-based squad’s hopes down as Wilson got couple of rebounds to deny the Eagles’ chance for redemption.
Returnee Miller Ong formalized the score with her split from the charity stripe.
A big game waits
Despite winning big, the Lady Archers is not done for the week as the team has to face league second placers, AdU Lady Falcons on Sunday.
Winning on Sunday will tie the Archers with the Lady Falcons and would give the Taft-based squad higher hopes for a twice-to-beat edge in the semifinals.
“That’s (against AdU Lady Falcons) a very important game (because) were chasing Adamson who are currently at second,” Bautista ended that they only have a day to prepare for the tight match on Sunday.
The scores:
DLSU 48 – Viterbo 12, Piatos 10, Abaca 9, Ong M. 5, Wilson 4, Santos 4, Garcia 2, Corcuera 1, Melendrez 1, Ong A. 0, Ramos 0.
ADMU 45 – Mercado 16, Jose 11, Chua 7, Dimaano 6, Ong S. 2, Aseron 2, Bo-ot 1, Nitorreda 0, Tiu 0, Castro 0, Javier 0.
Quarter scoring: 11-14, 24-21, 32-31, 48-45.
