With the game tied at 51 and just a few seconds remaining, it was an eerily familiar situation for the DLSU Lady Archers, who had suffered a 48-46 defeat at the hands of the FEU Lady Tamaraws just three days prior in the Father Martin’s Cup (FMC) finals. With that game on the line, Trisha Piatos missed a three pointer at the buzzer which led to their defeat. This time around though, the Lady Archers were ready and they proved it.
In the Fil-Oil Flying V Preseason Premiere Cup finals held last June 12, the Lady Archers came away with a 53-51 win against their familiar foes, the Lady Tamaraws. Piatos, once again tasked to make the game winning play, hit a baseline jumper with 2.7 seconds remaining to give them the victory and vanquish the ghosts of their FMC defeat.
Basketball though isn’t just about making shots and a team’s mistakes often dictate their fate. The Lady Archers almost let their turnovers get into the way of their march to the gold medal, but managed to regain control of the game just in time for the final buzzer.
The Lady Tamaraws opened the game with eight straight unanswered points before La Salle got their first field goal from Miller Ong. Errant passes and four first quarter shot clock violations nearly put the Lady Archers out of the game, trailing by as much as eight points at the onset, but Piatos kept the game within reach, coming off the bench to hit two straight three pointers in the second quarter to swing the lead to DLSU’s favor. Using a 12-0 run, the Lady Archers seized the lead and went into the half up by six, 28-22.
Turnovers akept the Lady Tamaraws in the game in the second half and they capitalized on DLSU’s errors, scoring 17 points off turnovers for the game. The Lady Archers led by nine, their biggest lead of the game, midway through the third period after Camille Claro drained a three pointer, but Camille Sambile kept FEU in the game with a barrage of jump shots from midrange to trim the lead to six, 43-37, going into the final canto.
With under three minutes left in the game and with the Lady Archers up by three points, forward Ara Abaca drove through the lane and hit a left-handed teardrop to extend the lead to 51-46. The Lady Tamaraws clamped down on defense immediately and forced La Salle into a shot clock violation, which led to a basket on the other end to trim the lead to three. On the ensuing trip down court, Lady Tamaraw Vangie Soriano drilled a three pointer to tie the game at 51 with 13.7 seconds left to play.
The Lady Archers were destined for victory though and the ball found its way into the hands of the sharpshooting Piatos after La Salle was put into disarray by the FEU defense. Piatos’ game-winning field goal was her sixth made field goal of the afternoon and she finished with 16 points with four three point conversions and three steals. Cass Santos was a stellar force in the middle for La Salle and she finished with nine points and nine rebounds.
Meanwhile, Abaca, who was named a member of the tournament Mythical Five and the league MVP, was shackled to just eight points, but six of them came in the penultimate quarter. On the other side, fellow Mythical Team member Sambile shot nine of 16 from the field for a game-high 20 points with nine rebounds and four blocks, but it was not enough for FEU’s cause.
The win was the sixth straight in as many outings for coach Tyrone Bautista’s team and it is definitely a welcome milestone for the Lady Archers who are seeking to top their runner-up finish at the hands of FEU last season in the UAAP. The Lady Archers will kick off their UAAP campaign on July 4 and have shown us that they will be top contenders for the championship this coming season.
The Scores:
DLSU 53: Piatos 16, Santos 9, Abaca 8, Corcuera 6, Ramos 4, Melendres 3, Claro 3, Garcia 2, M. Ong 2, Scott 0, Vergara 0, Revillosa 0, Oyao 0.
FEU 51: Sambile 20, Soriano 9, Siat 8, Gesalan 8, Valenzona 4, Tanaman 2, Gabriel 0, Chan 0, Albano 0, Arellado 0, Castro 0.
Quarter Scores: 8-14, 28-22, 43-37, 53-51.
