After dominating all of their opponents and winning five straight games, the DLSU Lady Archers tasted their first loss in the UAAP tournament at the hands of the NU Lady Bulldogs. The Lady Archers were unable to maintain their unblemished win-loss record as they suffered a 55-64 defeat against one of the surprise teams in the Women’s Division. The Lady Archers remain in second place though with a 5-1 slate.
The Lady Bulldogs started strong, overpowering the Lady Archers early in the first quarter of the match with a 16-7 finish in favor of NU after the first ten minutes of play. La Salle continued to struggle against the Lady Bulldogs despite the contributions from Lady Archer star Ara Abaca who ended the match with 18 points and nine rebounds. La Salle kept on chasing their foes but failed to minimize the double digit deficit that they faced, ending the first half trailing by 18, 35-17.
As the third quarter opened, the tough ladies from NU continued to bag points in succession. Afril Bernardino led the Lady Bulldogs with 16 points and 19 rebounds and she was complemented by Anne Gupilan’s 10 points and Trixie Antiguiera’s 9 markers.
The Lady Archers tried to catch up to NU with aggressive plays through the added efforts of veterans Trisha Piatos, Inna Corcuera and Miller Ong but the ladies seemed to be unable to match the challenge given to them by the Lady Bulldogs’ execution. Piatos and Corcuera combined for 17 points off the bench and Ong had seven points, six rebounds and two steals, but their efforts were not enough to snag another win.
During the last 10 minutes of the game, head coach Ty Bautista’s team never gave up, regardless of the 21 point deficit that they faced entering the penultimate period. They blasted 21 points in the fourth quarter compared to only nine points for the Lady Bulldogs. However, the rally made by the Lady Archers was not enough to overcome the Lady Bulldogs at the final buzzer as they fell by nine points.
Even though the Lady Archers failed to grab their sixth consecutive victory, expect these ladies to bounce back as they aim to hand to the the FEU Lady Tamaraws their first loss of the season when they face each other on Sunday, August 4, at the San Juan Arena.
The Scores
NU 64– Bernardino 16, Gupilan 10, Antiquera 9, Escoto 8, Abriam 7, Tongco 6, Bonleon 6, Paig 2, Sison 0, Seno 0
DLSU 55– Abaca 18, Piatos 9, Corcuera 8, M. Ong 7, Santos 6, Scott 2, Revillosa 2, Gonzales 2, Claro 1, Vergara 0, Ramos 0, A. Ong 0, Garcia 0
Quarter scores: 16-7, 35-17, 55-34, 64-55
