Fil-Oil: Lady Archers tame Lady Bulldogs in close match-up

The DLSU Lady Archers fended off the NU Lady Bulldogs, 64-62, to remain undefeated on top of the standings. The Lady Archers relied on Ara Abaca and Cass Santos, who paced DLSU with 13 points apiece from their fourth game in the Fil-Oil Flying V Preseason Premiere Cup in the Arena in San Juan. Lady Bulldog Shelly Gupilan led all scorers with 21 points, highlighted by shooting 12 of 15 from the charity stripe.

The game started out close as neither team got a lead of more than two points in the first quarter. Sam Paig scored a three pointer with 28 seconds remaining in the first period to give NU its first lead since the opening two minutes. The Lady Archers retaliated with a bucket from Trisha Piatos to close out the quarter with a one point lead, 12-11.

The Lady Archers started the second canto with a 9-2 run led by back-to-back buckets from center Ina Corcuera in the first two and a half minutes of the quarter. DLSU maintained their intensity by closing out the Lady Bulldogs, 29-23, to end the first half.

La Salle then opened the second half with a 5-0 run coming from the fiery Piatos. This opened up the lead to nine points as La Salle tried to rout NU; however, the Lady Bulldogs responded with an 18-7 run of their own, which gave them the lead at the end of the third quarter, 43-41. The Lady Archers missed basket after basket and could not convert on the charity stripe. NU outscored the Lady Archers, 20-12, in the third and their lead was down to two.

With the lead in the Lady Bulldogs’ favor to begin the fourth quarter, the Lady Archers added pressure to the backcourt to force turnovers from NU. The Lady Archers were able to reclaim the lead, 52-50, with 6:25 left in the game. DLSU was able to convert on key baskets in the final minutes of the game to give them a 63-59 lead with two minutes left. Gupilan then converted a three point play with 25 seconds left to trim the lead to one.

NU applied pressure defense and forced Abaca to commit a travelling violation with 11 seconds left. The potential game winner by Tongco missed the mark; Santos was able to come down with the rebound to secure the win for the Lady Archers, who remain undefeated after three games.

Next up for the Lady Archers are the ADMU Lady Eagles, whom they will face on June 1 at 10:30 am in the same venue.

DLSU 64 – Abaca 13, Santos 13, Garcia 10, Piatos 7, Corcuera 6, Ong 3, Melendres 3, Oyao 3, Claro 2, Ramos 2, Vergara 2, Revillosa 0, Scott 0

NU – Gupilan 21, Paig 19, Tongco 8, Borleon 4, Escoto 2, Abriam 2, Antiguera 2, Maghibon 2, Castro 0, Sison 0, Senarosa 0, Ross 0

Quarter Scores: 12-11; 29-23; 41-43; 64-62.