The DLSU Lady Archers failed to contain a fourth-quarter miracle by the UP Fighting Maroons, succumbing to the Diliman grit, 62-66, ending Round One of the UAAP Season 87 Women’s Basketball Tournament with a tough loss earlier today, October 6, at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.
The valiant efforts of the Lady Archers were spearheaded by recent UAAP record breaker Luisa San Juan’s 23 points, eight rebounds, and five assists. Bernice Paraiso provided reliable support with 13 points, six rebounds, and four assists.
Achrissa Maw steered the Fighting Maroons to victory with 18 markers, eight rebounds, and two assists, hailing as the Player of the Game. Louna Ozar, Kye Pesquera, and Christie Bariquit were unsung heroes as they each contributed double digits with Ozar chalking up 13 points followed by Pesquera and Bariquit with 11 points each.
Too close to call
Entering the hardwood court with high hopes of ending Round One with a bang, the DLSU Lady Archers faltered in their offense as several possessions were left unmarked. After two minutes of scrambling offense from both teams, Ozar eventually ended the scoring drought with a hook shot to pierce through the board for the Maroon squad. Lee Sario, however, immediately retaliated for La Salle with two points of her own from in the paint to put the match at deadlock, 2-all.
As UP took control of the quarter early on, emerging La Salle star San Juan took initiative to keep the ballers from Taft in close contention as her bank shot and trey tied the match again, 9-all. But the Fighting Maroons refused to slow down as Bariquit answered back from beyond the arc to regain the lead for the women in maroon, 12-9. Following a nip-and-tuck unleashing of freebies and paint points in the homestretch, a jumper from Patricia Mendoza ended the quarter to keep the Lady Archers at bay and cut the opponent’s lead to two, 17-15.
The second quarter followed the same story of its predecessor as Sario’s firm presence allowed her an opening for three to make things work for La Salle, 20-17. But the deadly offensive pairing of Maw and Ozar ignited a 9-0 run for the Fighting Maroons to enjoy a comfortable seven-point gutter, 27-20. DLSU’s Kyla Sunga finally stopped the bleeding with a two-pointer off an assist from San Juan, replicated with another shot in the paint off Bea Dalisay’s pass to cut the lead to three, 27-24.
The Lady Archers slowly but surely fixed their offensive plays as Paraiso and Dalisay made consecutive treys, boosting San Juan’s fadeaway, for the Archers with 35 seconds left to snatch the lead, 33-31. However, UP remained unruffled and quickly answered back with Ozar and Maw’s last-minute consecutive contributions from in the paint to conclude the first half still with the upper hand, 35-33.
Impaled momentum
After falling in the second frame, the DLSU Lady Archers were eager to bounce back after only being down by two. Arabell Bacierto immediately answered the call, shooting a two-pointer to tie the match, 35-all. The Taft-based squad was able to man the defensive front as UP missed multiple shot attempts, which opened up San Juan to hit her signature three-pointer to grab the lead, 38-35. However, UP’s Shanina Tapawan stayed consistent in scoring, muscling her way through the La Salle defenders to keep the scoreline close, 43-41. But DLSU continued to display their outstanding shooting six minutes into the third quarter as record-breaking hero San Juan made back-to-back two-pointers, 49-41. The Taft-based squad found themselves in a pristine position after a long chase for a comfortable lead, making the most out of the bonus shots they were given as San Juan, Paraiso, Sunga, and Mica Camba chalked up a total of seven points from foul balls, 56-44.
After a strong third quarter, the ladies in green were shell-shocked as UP slowly but surely caught up to the lead. The team worked their way through offensive rebounds as Maw scored two to catch up, cutting DLSU’s lead to six, 56-50. La Salle’s defense began to crumble with three minutes left, giving up long-range shots to and lending the lead to UP, 61-60. Despite multiple attempts to catch up, the Lady Archers’ frustration got the best of them as their errors led to turnovers. The Green-and-White ultimately succumbed to the Fighting Maroons as San Juan missed her field goal attempts. Nine seconds left into the match, Bariquit made both of her free throws to solidify UP’s victory, crushing the Taft-based squad’s ever-near hopes of securing their second victory, 66-62.
With only one win under their belt, the Green-and-White will focus on resharpening their arrows as they await their Round Two schedule in the hopes of turning the season around.
The Scores:
DLSU 62 – San Juan 23, Paraiso 13, Sario 7, Camba 5, Dalisay 5, Mendoza 4, Sunga 3, Bacierto 2, Dela Paz 0, Rodriguez 0, Santos 0
UP 66 – Maw 18, Ozar 13, Pesquera 11, Bariquit 11, Tapawa 8, Lozada 5, Barba 0, Jimenez 0, Mendoza 0, Nolasco 0, Quinquinio 0, Sauz 0, Solitario 0, Vingno 0
Quarter Scores: 17-15, 35-33, 56-46, 66-62
