The DLSU Lady Archers suffered their second straight loss as five-peat champions NU Lady Bulldogs nearly doubled La Salle’s score, 112-58, earlier today at the UST Quadricentennial Pavilion. The defeat brings the Taft-based team to a 1-2 win-loss record.
It was a combined team effort for the Lady Bulldogs. Rhena Itesi, Camille Clarin, and Jack Animam led their team in scoring, as they recorded 20, 19, and 18 points, respectively. Kaye Pingol and Keli Hayes also tallied double digits, with the former scoring 14 points and the latter 11.
In the losing effort, Chuchi Paraiso was the key player for the young Lady Archers squad, scoring 14 points and four rebounds. Rookie Kent Pastrana also contributed 12 points and three rebounds.
Slow first half
Clarin opened the game with a three-pointer, which was followed by a layup by Pringle Fabruada at the 9:37 mark to boost the lead to 5-0 in favor of NU.
An assist by Paraiso to Angel Quingco gave the Lady Archers their first two points of the match with 9:25 left in the first period. The Lady Bulldogs then took charge with a seven-point run, which was ended by Paraiso’s layup at the 4:47 mark,17-9. Throughout the first quarter, the Taft-based squad could not score through the defense of the opposing team and ended the period down by double digits, 29-9.
A layup from La Salle’s captain Bennette Revillosa and a foul by Melody Cac broke the momentum for the team from Sampaloc coming into the second quarter, 29-11. Cac then scored two three-pointers in succession, which gave the Lady Bulldogs the 40-11 lead with over six minutes of play remaining in the period.
La Salle seemed to find some momentum halfway through the second quarter, as Quingco continued to score alongside the efforts of Paraiso and Betts Binaohan, though the Green-and-White still trailed, 46-22.
NU’s leading scorer, Clarin, shot a three-pointer from the corner with 2:40 remaining in the second quarter. Pastrana answered back with her own three-point shot to bring the score to 53-22 still in favor of NU at the 1:45 mark of the second period. The Lady Bulldogs ended the first half with back-to-back shots and a free throw from Animam, 62-27.
Deflating second half
The third quarter shifted to a slower pace as DLSU was able to bypass the full-court pressure defense of NU. The Green-and-White succeeded in limiting the Lady Bulldogs’ points to just eight points; however, the Lady Archers failed to fully utilize this to their advantage as they managed to score only 16 points in those 10 minutes.
The quarter ended on a high note for La Salle through a three-pointer converted by Rhea Castillo with 10 seconds left in the period, 70-43.
In the final period, NU continued their pressure defense across the entire court despite leading by a substantial margin. The Lady Archers were unable to react well, forcing several turnovers down the stretch that turned into easy fastbreak points for the Lady Bulldogs. A layup made by Animam at the 4:43 mark capped off NU’s 14-point scoring run.
DLSU responded by attempting a final effort to trim the deficit in the closing minutes of the game, but it was too late as the Lady Bulldogs finished off the Green-and-White with nine unanswered points before the final buzzer sounded, 112-58.
After the game head coach, Cholo Villanueva mentioned that his players played well despite the fact that many of the players were relatively new to the UAAP scene. ”We saw glimpses of potential, especially with the rookies and sophomores. We’re moving in the right direction,” he shared.
Not letting their defeat today at the hands of the Lady Bulldogs put a damper on their determination, Coach Villanueva asserted that they “need to learn from the mistakes that [were] made in today’s game and apply them in [the] upcoming games. We can’t sulk in this loss because it’s a very quick tournament, and we’re still on the right track.”
The Lady Archers will strive to return to the winning column and improve their record as they face the UE Lady Warriors on Saturday, September 14, at 8 am at the Mall of Asia Arena.
The scores:
DLSU 58 – Paraiso 14, Pastrana 12, Revillosa 8, Binaohan 7, Quingco 6, Torres 3, Sario 3, Castillo 3, Okoli 2
NU 112 – Itesi 20, Clarin 19, Animam 18, Pingol 14, Hayes 11, Cac 9, Supada 4, Canuto 4, Cacho 4, Bartolo 3, Harada 2, Fabruada 2, Del Carmen 2
Quarter scores: 9-29, 27-62, 43-70, 58-112
