UAAP: Lady Archers defeat UST to usher in second round

In their first game in the second round, the DLSU Lady Archers escaped the UST Lady Tigresses, 70-63, to complete a season sweep of their rivals in the ongoing UAAP Season 78 Women’s Basketball Tournament last Sunday, October 4, at the Blue Eagle Gym in Quezon City.

Bennette Revillosa, Alyanna Vergara, and Camille Claro all came off the bench to combine for 37 points, 12 rebounds, and 10 assists to lead the Taft-based squad to the win. Ara Abaca added an all-around performance of 11 points, nine rebounds, and five assists.

UST was led by the efforts of Micah Cortes, who had 17 points and 13 rebounds in the game.

Both squads struggled to convert their field goals in the first quarter as tight physical defense from both teams was already in display. La Salle was able to limit their opponents to only two field goals, but gave up 11 attempts from the free throw line. The quarter ended with the score of 13-11 in favor of DLSU.

It was the Lady Tigresses’ turn to get hot midway through the second quarter as they unleashed an 11-1 run that gave them their biggest lead of the match, 30-21. Cortes had seven points in the frame, muscling her way inside against a thinner Lady Archer frontline. The lead was cut down to four, 30-26, by the end of the first half thanks to five consecutive points from Abaca.

La Salle opened the third quarter by scoring six unanswered points, giving them the lead at 33-30. The España-based squad, led by Mariell Isanan, would counter with an 8-0 push that put them ahead, 38-33, at the six-minute mark. It would be a continuous exchange of baskets afterwards, with the Green-and-White managing to hang on to a one-point lead, 47-46, before the start of the fourth quarter.

With the score tied at 54 apiece with eight minutes left in the game, the Taft-based squad would go on a 9-2 burst, capped off by a fast-break layup by Ana Castillo, giving themselves a seven-point advantage with less than five minutes left in the game. UST would come as close as three points, 63-60, after a Cortes jumper but in the end, DLSU would hold on to their lead and clinch the victory.

Coming up for the Lady Archers are the Adamson Lady Falcons, whom they will face on October 18, Sunday, at 3 pm.

The scores:

DLSU (70) – Revillosa 13, Vergara 13, Claro 11, Abaca 11, Castillo 7, Ong 5, Penaranda 3, Dagdagan 3, Roxas 2, Vela 2, Gonzales 0, Oyao 0.

UST (63) – Cortes 17, Isanan 12, Magdaluyo 9, Larosa 8, Felisarta 5, Brillante 5, Angeles 4, Anies 3, Penaflor 0, Jerez 0, Capilit 0, Pemia 0.

Quarterscores: 13-11, 26-30, 47-46, 70-63