The DLSU Lady Archers overcame a shaky opening frame to clinch an emphatic second victory over the UP Fighting Maroons, 88-59, in the UAAP Season 88 Women’s Basketball Tournament yesterday, October 19, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Spearheading DLSU’s balanced attack was Paulina Anastacio, who posted 18 points, three rebounds, and a steal. Tricia Mendoza and Team Captain Mica Camba also worked their offensive magic with 13 points each, with Mendoza adding seven rebounds and Camba contributing three.
Meanwhile, the Fighting Maroons’ Camille Nolasco, Achrissa Maw, and Louna Ozar drew from their steady execution, individually tallying 10 points to momentarily stall DLSU before they broke the game wide open.
Keeping within striking distance
The pressure to notch a second win was palpable in the Lady Archers’ display in the opening minutes. Despite gaining early ground with an inside basket by Mendoza, the green shirts quickly slipped into a rattled state with the absence of solid team play. Their uphill battle was marred by the Fighting Maroons’ composed ball rotation and efficient swings from under the basket, as UP pulled ahead, 7-2. However, momentum began to shift when Aiesha Dizon sank consecutive baskets, followed by Eli Delos Reyes’s long two off a steal and assist from Mendoza, reviving the Green-and-White from their scoring drought, 9-8. The tempo picked up in the final minutes of the first quarter as both teams traded brief scoring bursts before Kyla Sunga battled for a putback off her own miss to sustain a one-point game, 19-18.
Just a basket shy of seizing the lead, the Lady Archers looked as though they were starting from scratch at the onset of the second quarter. They committed back-to-back turnovers that UP’s Rhea Solitario and Nolasco pounced on to push the score to 24-18. Although Camba avenged her own miss to trim the deficit to four, misfortune continued to hound DLSU as a third turnover followed and Sunga was tagged with consecutive personal fouls. After successful trips to the line and relentless effort in the paint, the Diliman-based squad steadily widened the gap, 33-24. Nonetheless, DLSU soon erupted in an offensive frenzy—sparked by a Camba triple and capped by Mendoza, who toyed with her defender to tie the game at 35-all. With only a minute left, Kyla Go gave her team their first lead of the night with a free throw. Yet UP had the final say before the break, reclaiming the edge at 39-38 just seconds before halftime.
Unleashing the kraken
After the Diliman mainstays dominated the command for most of the game, the Lady Archers sought critical adjustments coming into the second half—and a new hero stepped up. The Green-and-White quickly improved on their three-point conversions in the third canto, as Zyla Lubrico initiated the Lasallians’ beyond-the-arc shootfest to spark DLSU’s eventual scoring spree for the remainder of the match, 44-43. The rest of the Lady Archers immediately followed suit as they chucked in three-pointers of their own, including eventual Player of the Game Anastacio and Camba, to swiftly inflate their lead to a comfortable 16-point cushion, 66-50, by the end of the penultimate period. On top of a more productive field-goal rate and an impenetrable defense by La Salle, the Fighting Maroons’ woes in the second half came from fewer conversions and a silent performance by top gun Nolasco that allowed the Lady Archers a costly 28-4 run.
As the final quarter commenced, the Lady Archers never looked back and continued to control the match with help from their high-yielding offensive rebounds and aggressive press. Anastacio remained assertive with consistent production in the paint with help from her dynamic drives and remarkable assists from her team. Go was the unsung hero of the fourth canto with several contributions off layups, including a highlight play off a steal and fastbreak to cap off her run for a daunting 29-point gutter, 83-54. Despite a desperate attempt by Nolasco to keep the Maroons at bay with a steal and counterattack of her own, Edel Jane Araza quickly retaliated and sealed the deal with an and-one closer to complete La Salle’s second-half jamboree with a commanding 88-59 coup.
Head Coach Pocholo Villanueva gave credence to the Lady Archers’ halftime adjustments with their impenetrable defense in fending off the Maroons’ offense, limiting them to only six field goals out of 29 attempts in the second half. “They just gave their [best] efforts defensively, especially in the second half. Our goal is for the other team to score 10 to 12 points per quarter, and they did that in the second half. I’m very confident with my girls that they’re going to be defending well against this UP team, pressuring the ball, and knowing what kind of tendencies the UP players have,” he stated with pride.
Coming off consecutive wins to conclude Round One, the Green-and-White look to shoot down the AdU Lady Falcons and keep the momentum going on Wednesday, October 22, at 10 am at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.
The Scores:
DLSU 88 – Anastacio 18, Camba 13, Mendoza 13, Go 9, Lubrico 7, Dizon A. 6, Villarin 6, Delos Reyes 5, Dela Paz 4, Araza 3, Dizon S. 2, Sunga 2, Catalan 0, Salado 0, Villapando 0
UP 59 – Maw 10, Nolasco 10, Ozar 10, Cunanan 6, Solitario 6, Mejasco 4, Mendoza 4, Vingno 4, Barba 3, Tapawan 2, Castro 0
Quarter Scores: 18-19, 38-39, 66-50, 88-59
