The DLSU Lady Archers suffered a rough 91-53 loss to the reigning champions, the NU Lady Bulldogs, in their first-round UAAP Season 86 matchup earlier today, October 15, at the SM Mall of Asia Arena. This sees the continuation of La Salle’s struggles in the tournament as their record falls to 1-4.
Putting up a fight against the Lady Bulldogs, top scorer Lee Sario scored 14 points off the bench for DLSU. Meanwhile, Bettina Binaohan and Aji Bojang contributed 12 and 10 points, respectively.
The Lady Bulldogs were in control of the game, though, with Camille Clarin leading the scoring with 19 points—five of which came from three-point shots. Princess Fabruada chipped in 13 points with two assists and three steals. Karl Pingol also contributed to the team’s offense with 11 points, making five out of her seven free throws.
A slow start
The Lady Archers presented a low-scoring output and frail defense in the opening quarter. On the other hand, the NU Lady Bulldogs came in strong with back-to-back three-pointers from Clarin, 6-0. DLSU was unable to break the defense of NU with two shot clock violations and several turnovers within the first two minutes of the match. Bojang managed to score DLSU’s first point of the match only at the 6:50 mark, 6-2.
Hoping to take control of the game, Sario and Binaohan entered the match wherein a two-point shot from Binaohan managed to shake things up for her team, 12-4. The latter part of the first quarter was still in NU’s favor as they continued their offensive scoring spree, 19-4.
After a timeout was called by DLSU, Solis was able to score a three, but the Binaohan-Sario tandem contributed their own two-point shots to try and cut down the Bulldogs’ lead, 22-8. Despite gaining momentum, the Lady Archers ended the first quarter with a twelve-point deficit against the Lady Bulldogs, 23-11.
Hoping to bounce back in the second quarter, DLSU was still under NU’s offensive control with Clarin’s three-point shooting. DLSU’s sloppy defense allowed NU’s Pingol to shoot back-to-back free throws, making two of the first set while splitting the second free throw, 33-13.
Looking to compose the team, La Salle called for a timeout which was successfully followed by Sario’s three-point shot and San Juan’s two-point that gave the team a 5-0 run, 37-20. But this momentum was short-lived as DLSU’s defense still endangered the team by giving away free throws. Looking to recover, Dela Paz scored five points along with contributions from Binaohan and Sario. The Taft-based squad ended the first half on a low note, dominated by the Lady Bulldogs, 45-33.
Fighting back but falling short
DLSU came out of the halftime break late and was warned for delaying the game. Turnovers continued to plague the team from Taft, giving up the ball immediately in the first possession to give their adversaries an easy basket, 47-33. However, the Green and White began to slowly turn things around in their favor. After forcing a shot clock violation on NU, San Juan and Sario drilled shots from beyond the arc to bring the lead down to a single digit, 49-40.
La Salle was unable to overcome their struggles with taking care of the ball, though, allowing NU to score easy points on the fastbreak. With Clarin knocking down two three-pointers of her own to spearhead the Bulldogs’ run, they ended the third period back in control, 59-45.
After a spirited effort to open the second half, the Lady Archers were unable to hold on in the fourth quarter. They were blown out of the water, being outscored 33-8 in the period. Binaohan continued to look for her shots, managing to score back-to-back baskets for her side, 68-51, but the team from Sampaloc proved to be too much. From that point onward, La Salle was limited to just two points as NU went on a 23-point scoring run to end the game, 91-53.
Attributing his team’s 30 turnovers in the game to growing pains, DLSU head coach Cholo Villanueva conveyed that limiting turnovers “comes from experience, handling pressure…and emotions. For a young team, those are the growing pains we’ll be going through, and hopefully, we speed up our maturation in the next few games.”
Despite the unideal start to the season, the former Green Archer adamantly declared, “We still have a solid chance of making the Final Four. We just need to string together some wins…hopefully, we start gaining momentum going into our next games.”
Following this disappointing result, the DLSU Lady Archers will look to make their return to the win column in impressive fashion as they face the tall task of taking down the 5-0 UP Fighting Maroons. While the team may be down, they are definitely not out, with Villanueva saying, “We beat a team that hadn’t lost a game for several years [last season]. Beating a team with a five-game win streak will be tough, but we will prepare for them.”
The Scores:
DLSU 53 – Sario 14, Binaohan 12, Bojang 10, de la Paz 5, San Juan 5, de los Reyes 4, Mendoza 2, Dalisay 1
NU 91 – Clarin 19, Fabruada 13, Pingol 11, Bartolo 9, Solis 8, Surada 7, Betanio 7, Cayabyab 6, Canuto 4, Alcantara 3, Berberabe 2, Talas 2
Quarter Scores: 23-11, 45-33, 59-45, 91-53
