The DLSU Lady Archers bowed to the NU Lady Bulldogs, 77-74, earlier today at the Mall of Asia Arena in game one of the best-of-three finals series. Gemma Miranda led the Lady Bulldogs with 15 points and five assists. Teammate Jack Animam also added 14 points and eight rebounds for the defending champions.
La Salle put up a fight behind Khate Castillo, who finished with 18 points on four of 11 three-pointers. Camille Claro provided support as she added 15 points, seven rebounds, and nine assists of her own. In the losing effort, Snow Peñaranda also added a double-double performance with 16 points and 11 rebounds.
“We’re a small team but we have heart. We’re not gonna give up until the last second of the game. That’s why we still dug deep and had a comeback of some sorts. We fell short so at least we know we didn’t give up,” said head coach Cholo Villanueva.
First half
The Lady Archers started slow and committed careless turnovers in the first quarter, allowing NU to take an early 20-19 lead. In the second quarter, La Salle was able to take control of the game, courtesy of three-pointers from Camille Claro, Khate Castillo, and Kat Nuñez.
NU was also able to make a comeback fueled by three-pointers from Ria Nabalan and Florymae Ceno. The second period was a heated battle with both teams trading baskets. In the end, La Salle was able to snag the lead from the Lady Bulldogs. The Green-and-White managed to translate 17 first-half NU turnovers into 17 points.
Snow Penaranda managed to score 12 of her 16 points in the first half alone, as the Lady Archers took an 11 point lead, 39-28, going into the locker room. Claro primarily orchestrated the offense for La Salle as she went on to take control of the team’s fastbreak opportunities.
Second half
The second half’s tempo was controlled by a rejuvenated Lady Bulldog squad led by Gemma Miranda and Afril Bernardino. The Lady Archers were caught flat-footed on both ends of the floor as they were outscored by NU in the third period alone, 28-10. La Salle managed to regain its rhythm offensively late in the quarter, but only managed to trade baskets with the Lady Bulldogs.
The final quarter had the Lady Archers flowing well offensively, but they were unable to stop the team from Sampaloc’s fluid offense. NU seemed to take control of the game and cruise to another victory, but La Salle refused to wilt behind the efforts of Castillo and Claro. The duo managed to combine for five three-pointers in the final five minutes of the game. Claro managed to trim the deficit to one, 71-70, as she converted one of her three-point field goals from the top of the key with 1:05 to play in the game.
Ria Nabalan proved to be the hero as she answered back with two straight three-pointers of her own in the final 51 seconds of the game to halt the Lady Archers’ hopes of completing a much needed comeback.
Game two will be played on Wednesday, December 7, at 11 am at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Despite the defeat, Villanueva remained positive, saying, “It takes two wins to win a championship. They just have one win. We still have two chances. They still have to beat us to win the championship. So it’s not yet over.”
The scores:
NU 77- Miranda 23, Animam 14, Nabalan 11, Itesi 11, Bernardino 10, Camelo 3, Ceno 3, Del Carmen 2
DLSU 74- Castillio 18, Peñaranda 16, Claro 15, Revillosa 14, Nuñez 7, Arciga 2, Vergara 2, Vela 0
Quarter scores: 20-19, 28-39, 56-49, 77-74
