Following a two-year absence of the 5-on-5 Women’s Basketball Tournament in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP), the Ateneo Women’s Basketball Team (AWBT) is finally back in action. This weekly series looks to analyze the state of the Ateneo Blue Eagles as they return to the country’s premier collegiate league.

THE ATENEO Women’s Basketball Team ended their second week of games with their heads held high, 2-3.

In the AWBT’s first match of the week, an all-around team effort was a pleasant sight in their performance against the second seed University of Santo Tomas (UST) Lady Tigresses despite the loss, 68-69. Furthermore, the Blue Eagles followed this up with a much-needed win in the Battle of Katipunan by trumping the University of the Philippines (UP) Fighting Maroons, 67-61. 

With a second win under their belts, the AWBT looks poised to end the first round of the eliminations on a strong note. Should the Blue Eagles sustain this momentum, they could very well make a run to secure a top four standing in UAAP Season 85.

1. The Kacey Dela Rosa effect 

Ethan: IN THEIR nail-biter loss against the Lady Tigresses, Kacey Dela Rosa grabbed 11 rebounds with 10 points on 57% shooting. Against the Fighting Maroons, the rookie prodigy put up a monstrous 30 points paired with 20 total rebounds to complete her fifth straight double-double outing. 

In every game, it was clear that having Dela Rosa on the floor was a luxurious privilege for Ateneo. The AWBT ran plenty of pick-and-roll plays with her as the screener which often ended in the rookie finding an open shot down the lane against the UP bigs. Whether it was Jhazmin Joson or Junize Calago who was calling the shots, it was evident that their first instinct in offensive possessions was to find Dela Rosa. The AWBT’s shooters also seem to have more confidence pulling up for jumpers because even though they miss, Dela Rosa is there to fight for the rebound against multiple defenders—a battle that she often wins.

On the defensive end, if the opposing team called for a one-on-one play, Dela Rosa was quick and athletic enough to recover and contest the shots. Against the Fighting Maroons, she was the only player from either team to have recorded a block, tallying seven in the match. The former Basketball Without Borders All-Star also has no problem maneuvering her way through traffic to the prime defensive position, often forcing the opposing team’s ball handler to take a bad shot or make a sloppy pass. 

Dela Rosa’s presence makes it easy for the other four Blue Eagles on the court to focus on their defensive matchups. Her real impact is that she makes whoever is in front of her second guess their decisions.

In our previous Weekly Takeaways, we wrote that Dela Rosa, along with Joson, was at the heart of Ateneo’s offense. The story remains to be true heading into week three of the tournament. By simply stepping on the court, Dela Rosa gives the AWBT plenty of space on the floor to work with. It is going to be a delight to watch how the rookie will be utilized in the Blue Eagles’ remaining matchups in the first round of eliminations.

2. Missed opportunities 

Eury: IF THERE are some things that the AWBT must work on immediately, it would be their offensive lapses—especially when it comes to their free throw plays and costly turnovers. 

In the previous games, the team struggled to demonstrate expertise when it came to harvesting points from the charity line. Often, the girls fell short of amassing additional points from their free throw opportunities, which proved to be detrimental to the team’s overall stature at the end of each game.

In the AWBT’s match against the Lady Tigresses, only a total of 12 out of 25 free throws were scored by the entire team. The missed unguarded scoring attempts significantly influenced the bout’s outcome, leaving the girls with no choice but to accept the contest that ended in a mere one-point loss. Despite coming out on top in their latest game, the Blue Eagles’ performance on the line against the Fighting Maroons did not fare much better, only scoring a sheer total of 15 out of 29 free throws. 

Another impediment to the Blue Eagles’ journey of soaring through the ranks is their abundant turnovers. Looking back at the team’s most recent stint against the Fighting Maroons, the staggering 29 turnovers committed by the Blue Eagles almost had them bid their victory farewell. UP had 27 points coming off Ateneo’s turnovers一making it a glaring sign for Coach LA Mumar and his team to expand their focus on the other facets of their game as well. With that being said, the Blue Eagles have yet to learn how to handle the ball and work toward turning the fouls to their advantage. 

With Sandra Villacruz and Calago joining the list of top scorers against the Lady Tigresses, the Blue and White have undoubtedly demonstrated an improvement in their scoring strategies. However, in order to fully maximize their plays, the Katipunan-based squad may have to build their basic foundations first to enhance their techniques and improve their follow-throughs in future games. 

3. Bench woes

Juris: LAST WEEK, the AWBT saw contrasting finishes from their set of games. On the one hand, two late-game turnovers versus the Lady Tigresses cost the Blue and White an opportunity to put a shot up and win the contest. On the other hand, the Katipunan-based team looked unfazed as they defeated UP in a hotly contested matchup.

There is one caveat that sticks out from both matchups一the starters are carrying almost all of the load. In Sunday’s historic triple-double effort, veteran guard Joson played 38 minutes—only seeing the bench for two minutes. Notably, she also played 35 minutes in the loss to UST. The same could be said for Dela Rosa–who played almost the same amount of time as Joson did.

In the matches versus UST and UP, the extended playing time of the starters worked. Dela Rosa put up a double-double in both games–even making a Shaquille O’Neal-like display versus the Fighting Maroons. Joson, on the other hand, steadied the ship for the Blue Eagles en route to stuffing the box scores. In the end, Team Captain Joson garnered 11 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 assists in the win against UP. To put everything into perspective, last Sunday, Ateneo’s starting five outscored the Fighting Maroons’ starters by 40 points, 44-4.

Though the team is getting more competitive, the overarching questions still remain: Can the starters maintain this level of output in the heavy minutes they are asked to play? And, if someone from the starting lineup is having an off-game, who will step up and carry the offensive load in the supporting cast? It may take more from LJ Miranda and Ylyssa Eufemiano to propel the Blue Eagles to the top four status.

This week’s games:

Wednesday, October 19, 3:00 PM, vs Adamson University Lady Falcons at the UST Quadricentennial Pavilion

Sunday, October 23, 11:00 AM, vs University of the East Lady Warriors at Ynares Antipolo