UAAP: Lady Archers survive against FEU, improve to 6-0

With a little under eight minutes left in the ball game, the DLSU Lady Archers led the FEU Lady Tamaraws by 10 points, but with 3:40 left in the game, they found themselves trailing by a point. However, a disastrous meltdown was averted as Trisha Piatos stole back the lead with a three pointer on the next possession to give DLSU a 42-40 edge which they would not relinquish.

Piatos then hit two free throws with three seconds left in the game to seal the 46-43 victory for La Salle. The win was the sixth in as many outings by the Lady Archers and this one was the closest yet.

Nicole Garcia led the Lady Archers with 15 points, 11 rebounds, two assists and two steals while Piatos added 10 points, five rebounds, three assists and two three pointers.

On the other hand, FEU was led by Claire Castro who had 12 points and 16 rebounds and Angel Arellano who finished with 10 points and seven rebounds but committed six turnovers.

The Lady Archers led by as much as 12 points back in the second quarter and maintained a 10 point lead for much of the game. The Lady Tamaraws’ late rally saw them take the lead for the first and only time in the contest, but it was short lived as the Lady Archers moved back into control 17 seconds later.

FEU actually controlled the rebounds, 50-43, and scored 14 second chance points as opposed to just four for DLSU, but the Lady Archers won with their teamwork as they recorded 14 assists compared to just eight for the Lady Tamaraws.

Both teams struggled with their shots as DLSU made just 28.81 percent of its attempts while FEU converted on only 29.51 percent. They struggled from the free throw line as well with the Lady Archers made just eight out of their 18 attempts while FEU converted on six out of 16 tries.

To close out the first round, the Lady Archers will take on the NU Lady Bulldogs, their rivals from last season’s UAAP finals, who are also undefeated with a 6-0 win-loss record. The two squads will battle it out at 1 pm on Sunday, August 10, at the Blue Eagle Gym in Ateneo de Manila University.

The Scores:
DLSU 46: Garcia 15, Piatos 10, M. Ong 6, Santos 5, Melendres 3, A. Ong 2, Roxas 2, Castillo 2, Corcuera 1, Vergara 0, Scott 0.

FEU 43: Castro 12, Arellano 10, Tanaman 9, Siat 8, Valenzona 2, Ventura 2, Baldonado 0, Hortaleza 0, Chan 0, Balleser 0, Gabriel 0.

Quarter scores: 12-6, 24-14, 34-24, 46-43