With five wins in seven games, the Lady Archers is again one of the frontrunners in the second round of eliminations in the UAAP Season 75 Women’s Basketball Tournament.
Reigning champion FEU ranked number one with a clean sweep in the first round games, giving the team a 7-0 record, followed by a tie for second place between three teams with a record of 5-2, namely Adamson University, National University and the Lady Archers.
Taking aim
With last year’s Final Four experience, coupled with good preseason runs, the Lady Archers is set to prove that last season’s bid was not a fluke.
The Green and White shirts also received an early Christmas present as the shirts welcomed the return of the newly recovered pair of Miller Ong and Cassandra Santos, and with the addition of assistant coaches Joe Ward, Christopher Madrid and Jenkins Mesina, expect the squad to gather attention this season on its road to glory.
No walk in the park
“This season, the UAAP seems to be more competitive than ever, any given day any team can beat anybody,” said Coach Tyrone Bautista.
The Lady Archers managed to achieve the top record of 5-2 by beating Adamson, UP, UST, UE and archrival ADMU respectively.
Meanwhile, the setbacks came in the hands of reigning champion FEU and a surprising run by the NU Lady Bulldogs.
Alyanna Lim, the league’s leading scorer for the first round with a 21.4 average, now leads defending champion FEU Lady Tamaraws.
The league’s dark horses and last year’s sixth placer NU Lady Bulldogs, on the other hand, surprised many teams in the first round with wins against preseason favorites, La Salle and Ateneo.
DLSU Sports Director Nong Calanog, however, remains confident in the Lady Archers saying, “This is the team that I have envisioned and saw during the preseason, and I just hope and believe that the girls will carry what they learn in the preseason, and translate it each game this season so they can win it all.”
No lone Lady Archer
This season, the ladies relied on each member of the team as they embark on a mission to win it all. Different key veterans stepped up each game as the Lady Archers made a bid to improve the team’s standings, and to improve each player’s game.
Lady Archer Ara Abaca, a member of last year’s mythical five, and Team Captain Hannah Viterbo provided the scoring with Abaca ranking second in two point area at 58.5 percent, and Viterbo as the top three point shooter in the first round at 35.5 percent.
Returnee Ong and point guard Trisha Piatos rank number second and sixth respectively in assist, provided the support that the Lady Archers need to execute plays. Veterans Nicky Garcia, Inna Corcuera and Kady Wilson also pitched in, providing defense and rebounds.
Coach Tyrone expressed, “I’m happy with my veterans with regards to their performance and in general I am happy with the team with what they are showing… but as we all know the job is not yet over.”
Looking back for improvement
For the Lady Archers, the first round is a learning process.
Hannah Viterbo believes that the team has learned from its previous matches. She said, “I believe we can win it all this year. We’ve grown so much individually and as a team and I think it is time.”
Former Rookie of the Year Ong also expressed her thoughts of the first round saying, “I’m just happy to be back and contribute what I can to the team … it [first round] is more competitive than before, but nevertheless we will continue to play harder and better come second round.”
Coach Tyrone, however, believes that there is more to come. He said, “This season, so far I am happy with the performance of the team and I take my hats off to them for having a first round, but as I said the goal is not yet accomplished and still we have a long way to go.”
When asked about defending champion FEU and also title contenders AdU and NU, he said, “FEU is the defending champion, but as I told the girls, no matter who you are up against, just play our game plan and in the end, we will get to where we always wanted.”
Aiming high
With a 5-2 record, the Bautista-mentored squad is bound to make a good bid in the second round. Lady Archer Viterbo believes that the team has a good chance. She quipped, “We will come out hard and we will be stronger this time around.”
“Anything can happen, we don’t just have to carry our good momentum from round one to round two, but to even get better too,” ended an optimistic Bautista.
Currently, the Lady Archers won three straight games in the second round after a disappointing loss against the unblemished FEU Lady Tamaraws.
