The DLSU Lady Archers ended the first round of UAAP Season 86 on a high note as they crushed the winless UE Lady Warriors, 80-62, earlier today, October 21, at the Adamson Gym.
Lee Sario spearheaded the Green and White to their second win of the season by contributing 15 points, eight rebounds, and four assists. Backing her up was sharpshooter Luisa de la Paz who tallied 14 points on 4-of-4 shooting from the three-point line.
In a losing effort, Minslie Paule led the Lady Warriors with an all-around game of 17 points, seven rebounds, and five assists. Dianne Pedregosa was the only other Lady Warrior to score in double-figures with 15 markers.
Fiery shootout
As both teams looked to end their respective lackluster first round with a spark, the game quickly became a shootout from the deep early into the first quarter. The Lady Warriors took an early 6-0 lead from back-to-back threes from Althea Lorena and Jiera Delig. The Lady Archers responded with a shooting clinic of their own led by Bernice Paraiso’s eight points in the period. La Salle finally took their first lead of the game after a floater from Arabel Bacierto with about a minute left in the first quarter, 15-14.
After finding their rhythm late in the first period, the Taft-based squad started the second quarter with a blistering 11-0 run—six of which came from Luisa San Juan. The Lady Archers continued to shoot lights out from the deep, forcing multiple turnovers with active hands in the passing. La Salle also controlled the glass during the run, creating multiple second-chance opportunities. However, Paule responded with seven straight points for the Lady Warriors, as she scored in the paint and from downtown, cutting the deficit to seven, 30-23. The Green and White cooled the fire of the run by attacking the paint and scoring from inside. Both teams traded baskets in the final minutes of the second period with the Lady Archers taking a 38-27 halftime advantage.
In the driver’s seat
Coming off the halftime break, the Lady Archers carried on with their successful style of play from the first half. De la Paz swished her second three of the match in the first twelve seconds of the frame, which was followed by a hang time floater from San Juan that put the Green and White up 43-27. The Lady Archers’ staunch post defense prevented the Lady Warriors from converting plays around the paint—forcing them to chuck shots from deep. Instead of settling for points on set plays, UE picked up the pace by attacking aggressively on fastbreaks.
With four minutes left to play in the third quarter, the Lady Warriors hounded the offensive boards to give Pedregosa a putback opportunity—cutting La Salle’s lead to seven, 45-38. The match became even more heated after Paraiso was called for an unsportsmanlike foul that saw an exchange of words between both squads. The team from Recto’s 11-2 run, however, was halted by the Green and White knocking down crucial shots. A three from Arabell Bacierto proved to be a silencer that kept DLSU’s lead at eight, 48-40. After a few back-and-forth plays, La Salle ended the third quarter with a fiery and-one conversion for Sario, 55-45.
The final frame saw even more exchanges in scoring from both sides. DLSU made several important reads on the offensive end to get them past UE’s press defense, including a highlight play from Bea Dalisay, who got two defenders to jump on her pump fakes before making an open shot down low, 60-50. The Lady Warriors got most of their points on fastbreaks after missed perimeter shots from the Taft-based team. UE got as close as a seven-point deficit, but with five minutes remaining in the final quarter, DLSU went on a solid 6-0 run to put them at a comfortable lead, 70-57.
The Lady Warriors put up a valiant fight in the remaining game time, but the Lady Archers effectively prevented a potential comeback. Going perfect from downtown, de la Paz sank back-to-back triples to ice the game, 80-62.
DLSU Head Coach Cholo Villanueva spoke about the importance of getting this crucial win to end the first round. He shared, “We wanted to gain momentum going into the second round, which is why it’s a good thing we ended on a high note.” However, he also emphasized the need for improvement in taking care of the ball when creating plays and staying mentally strong in the next round of the games.
Following their 2-5 finish to the first round, the DLSU Lady Archers are now focused on their upcoming matches in the remainder of Season 86 as they strive to rally for a spot in the Final Four.
The Scores:
DLSU 80 – Sario 15, de La Paz 14, Paraiso 12, San Juan 11, Bacierto 10, Binaohan 6, Mendoza 6, Dalisay 4, Delos Reyes 2, Bojang 0, Sunga 0, Salado 0
UE 62 – Paule 17, Pedregoza 15, Anastacio 6, Burgos 6, Dela Rosa 6, Delig 5, Lorena 4, Ruiz 2, Ronquillo 1, Kone 0, Yane 0
Quarter Scores: 15-14, 37-28, 55-45, 80-62
