The De La Salle Lady Archers pulled off a convincing victory of 59-39 at the expense of the UP Lady Maroons earlier today at the Arena in San Juan.
Extending their winning streak to remain undefeated in the season, the Lady Archers relied on a strong team performance with 11 players seeing action on the court. Leading the scoring for DLSU was forward Ara Abaca who had a double-double performance off the bench, highlighted by her 12 points and 11 rebounds. Third year forward Alyanna Ong backed Abaca’s performance with 10 points of her own.
With the win, the Lady Archers remain on top of the UAAP Women’s Basketball standings with an untarnished 4-0 record.
Close first half
Despite the final score, a see-saw battle of deadlocks and lead changes seized the early moments of the duel. The first two quarters of action kept tilting in favor of both teams.
The Lady Archers started the game with a run, snatching a 9-0 blitz in the first four minutes with four of their five starters contributing baskets. However, the Lady Maroons responded with an 8-0 run of their own to end the first period with a close score of 9-8.
UP kept the game tight in the second period with the outside shooting of Katrinne Topacio, Sheerose Luna, and Iriss Isip leading the way. Lady Archer Trisha Piatos answered back, converting two triples to keep UP at bay and DLSU finished the first half with a 26-22 lead.
3rd quarter pullaway
Halftime adjustments were clear-cut for Head Coach Ty Bautista as he inserted Ara Abaca into the third quarter starting lineup. This tactical change proved worthwhile as his team started the period with a 6-0 run, prompting the Lady Maroons to call an immediate timeout with still eight minutes left to play in the quarter.
The brick-like defense of the Lady Archers was lethal for UP midway in the third quarter as La Salle outscored their counterparts, 19-6, hurting UP further as the lead eventually ballooned to 17 in the period. The Lady Archer’s never looked back as they cruised in the final frame to a 20 point victory.
Next up for the Lady Archers are the UE Amazons whom they will face on July 21 at 12:00 PM in the Arena in San Juan.
Box Scores:
DLSU 59: Abaca 12, A. Ong 10, Piatos 6, M. Ong 6, Garcia 6, Corcuera 5, Scott 4, Santos 4, Claro 4, Vergara 1, Ramos 1, Revillosa 0, Pineda 0, Oyao 0, Melendres 0, Gonzales 0.
UP 39: Tatel 10, Luna 6, Furagganan 6, Topacio 5, Wong 4, Salapong 4, Isip 4, Pioquinto 0, Lapid 0, Daez 0, Aurellado 0, Aliermo 0.
Quarter Scores: 9-8, 26-22, 45-28, 59-39
