UAAP: Lady Archers succumb to FEU’s late game heroics

The DLSU Lady Archers lost their twice-to-beat advantage to FEU after they fell to the Lady Tamaraws, 61-56, earlier today at the San Juan Arena. FEU made a run late in the game to salvage the game for the Recto-based squad.

Nicole Garcia sparked La Salle’s offense, scoring 15 points and garnering 5 rebounds. FEU’s Jacqueline Tanaman, meanwhile, played the game of her life, posting a near triple double with 16 points, 11 rebounds and 9 assists.

The first period was a living nightmare for both teams as missed lay-ins and unforced turnovers were the norm for both teams. The Lady Archers, however, started to do a full court press early in the game in hopes to yield fast break opportunities. The quarter ended with a score of 7-6 with a slight favor for the Taft-based squad.

The scoring picked some pace in the second, sparked by two three pointers by Lady Archer’s center Alyanna Ong. La Salle once again did a full court pressure that forced 10 turnovers from the Tamaraws in the period. DLSU, however, were unable to convert in their fast break opportunities.

Lasallian center Cass Santos lit up the scoreboards, scoring nine of her 11 points in the second quarter. Tanaman provided the scoring for FEU with her five points in the quarter. The score was 29-17 in favor of the Green-and-White at halftime.

Garcia continued her hot streak, starting the second half with a three-point basket and finishing the quarter with seven markers. Despite the pesky defense by DLSU, the Lady Tamaraws finally found their rhythm in the third period, finding open players inside the paint. The third quarter concluded with a 45-37 advantage for the Lady Archers.

FEU surged back into contention immediately as the fourth quarter started. The tag-team of Siat and Tanaman dominated the scoring for most of the fourth quarter. The Lady Tamaraws imposed a full-court press of their own and limited La Salle to only 3 points in the first five minutes of the final period.

The Siat-Tanaman duo continued their onslaught as the Tamaraws took the lead and even pulled a six-point lead for FEU. Veteran guard Camille Claro tried to will on the Taft-based squad, scoring four straight points to get the Lady Archers within two points with 45 seconds remaining. DLSU then failed to score a single point for the rest of the game as FEU escapes with the come-from-behind win.

With the defeat, the DLSU Lady Archers will once again face the FEU Lady Tamaraws in a do-or-die game for a finals berth on September 27, Saturday, 1:30 pm at the MOA Arena.

The Scores:

FEU 61- Siat 21, Tanaman16, Valenzona 7, Arellano 6, Ventura 4, Gabriel 4, Castro 2, Chan 1, Baldonado 0

DLSU 56- Garcia 15, Santos 11, Piatos 8, A.Ong 6, Claro 6, Mellendres 3, Vergara 3, M.Ong 3, Castillo 2, Concuera 0, Scott 0, Lumba 0

Quarter scores: 6-7, 17-29, 37-45, 61-56