Capturing their first victory in the second round, the Lady Archers drubbed the UST Growling Tigresses 67-60 earlier today, October 29, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Lady Archer Joehanna Arciga posted an all-around performance with 14 points, six rebounds, five assists, and three steals. Consistent as ever for DLSU, Lee Sario once again chipped in double figures with 11 points. Fina Niantcho and Charmine Torres both contributed nine and six points, respectively, with Tchuido having eight offensive rebounds for the team.
For UST, Rocel Dionisio led the effort with a double-double of 17 points and 11 rebounds but tallied a whopping seven turnovers. Eka Soriano chipped 10 markers of her own to go along with six assists.
Creating separation
The second-round matchup between the two teams began in tight fashion as neither side managed to create separation. Growling Tigress Tacky Tacatac provided all the offense for her side early on, scoring the UST’s first five points and helping them stay within striking distance as the Lady Archers carved out an early 6-5 lead with a little under seven minutes left in the opening quarter. Coming off of a cardiac 26-point outing, Sario sparked her side to a 12-2 run with her shooting stroke. UST called a timeout with four minutes left in the first period as they were shocked by their early 11-point deficit, 18-7. The Green and White’s early advantage began to dwindle, reaching as little as five, but they held on as they ended the first frame with a seven-point advantage, 22-15.
In the second quarter, DLSU and UST continued to press each other in the full court as the close affair between the two sides continued. La Salle ran their offense through the post play of Arciga, whose presence down low anchored her side as they pushed out a nine-point advantage, 30-21, with six minutes remaining in the first half. The team from Taft exhibited their composure against the relentless Growling Tigresses, regaining an 11-point buffer, 36-25, after Mika Camba nailed a short-ranged jumper. Sario continued to anchor her side, proving her consistency as one of the team’s main offensive options and seeing the Lady Archers end the second quarter with the lead, 40-29.
Stalwart team
The DLSU Lady Archers began the second-half scoring with a free throw after getting fouled by UST, 41-29. With excellent offensive rebounding throughout the whole contest, DLSU was able to convert a putback by Ahmed putting them up further, 45-29. Subsequently, an unsportsmanlike foul was called on Briana Espinas, almost giving UST a chance to cut into the 10-point deficit. It was a foul from Arciga, however, that gave them the opening, cutting the lead to eight, 45-37.
With UST struggling to get into the rhythm of their offense, the team from Taft took advantage and padded their lead, scoring consecutively with a quick inside bucket by Sario and a layup from Torres in the fourth quarter, 57-47. The crusade by the team from España started to intensify when the Growling Tigresses were able to cut down the lead with five minutes remaining. A Brigette Santos-Dioniso pesky play surfaced, showing their aggressiveness on the court to make it a one-possession ball game, 59-57. UST attempted for one final rally in hopes to steal the win from DLSU but Niantcho held down the tempo for her team, icing the game from the stripe.
Growling Tigress Agatha Bron fouled out with eight seconds remaining, finally giving the Lady Archers their moment of guaranteed victory, 67-60.
DLSU head coach Cholo Villanueva gave his thoughts on the victory over UST, who were the second seed entering today’s bout. “We just needed to bounce back from our first round loss. We corrected our mistakes, we needed to really want it this time around to get that win,” he shares.
Arciga discloses that the team stuck to the plan they had for their first-round matchup but failed to execute, “Sarap talaga na nakabawi kami kasi ginawa lang namin yung usual na pinagawa sa amin [ni] coach [Cholo Villanueva] na hindi namin nagawa ng first round.”
With this, La Salle sees their win-loss record increase to 6-2. The DLSU Lady Archers hope to continue their winning ways at 1 pm on Wednesday, November 2, versus the FEU Lady Tamaraws at the UST Quadricentennial Pavilion.
The Scores:
DLSU 67 – Arciga 14, Sario 11, Niantcho 9, Torres, 6, Ahmed 6, de la Paz 6, Binaohan 5, Jimenez 3, Espinas 3, Dalisay 2, Camba 2
UST 60 – Dionisio 17, Soriano 10, Bron 7, Ambos 6, Tacatac 5, Santos 5, Villasin 5, Danganan 3, Serrano 2, Pangilinan 0, Villapando 0
Quarter Scores: 22-15, 40-29, 53-43, 67-60
