SARAH MERCADO sank two of four free throw attempts and Jennifer Dimaano drilled a trifecta in time to complete a 6-0 run that allowed the Ateneo Lady Eagles to swoop past the NU Lady Bulldogs, 61-58 on July 25 at the PhilSports Arena.
Both teams went eye for eye in the first quarter. Mercado scored on a variety of lay-ups for the Lady Eagles while Carmina Laguindanum of the Lady Bulldogs scored on foul shots to help her team at bay. The first quarter ended 17-16, in favor of Ateneo.
In the second quarter, Ateneo shuffled its line-up as guards Samantha Ong and Caterina Lopa came off the bench. Clutching her right leg, however, Lady Eagles’ starting center Corinne Javier left the game late in the quarter.
Javier finished with nine points, two rebounds and an assist in only nine minutes of action. Forward Therese Estrada filled the void left by Javier. NU continued to score on Laguindanum’s foul shots and contributions from Meliza Mandap and Angelica Bonleon to even the quarter scoring at 14 points each.
After three-pointers from Ong and Lopa, the Lady Eagles took the lead in the third quarter. But the game soon became gritty and physical with both teams shuffling for loose balls and taunting each other after every foul call. Eden Alla of the Lady Bulldogs seemed to be gesturing towards an indifferent Mercado. NU fought back with two consecutive corner threes of their own, cutting the deficit to one, 47-46.
The physical play continued in the fourth quarter while both teams were missing a lot of shots. Mercado found her groove again to score on lay-ups, and Dimaano found the touch to score on jumpers. NU, however wouldn’t bow down easily. They countered back with timely jumpers from their wing players.
With the game so tightly knit, the physicality of the game came to its height when Alla threw an unsportsmanlike punch to Dimaano’s face, causing a scuffle among players. Two fouls were given to NU as Alla was ejected, and Ateneo was awarded four free throws plus a possession.
Dimaano hit a clutch three to cut the NU lead to one, 58-57. After a NU miss, Mercado ran to the other end of the court and banked a lay-up while being fouled by Laguindanum, who was sent to the bench after racking up her fifth foul. Mercado hit the free throw en route to a 61-58 victory for the Lady Eagles.
Dimaano led all scorers with 13 points while Mercado scored 11 points and grabbed seven rebounds. Forward-center Valerie Chua was solid, scoring eight points and grabbing eight rebounds for a team that still struggles to dominate on the boards. Laguindanum led the Lady Bulldogs with 11 points and 15 rebounds.
The Lady Eagles next face the Adamson Lady Falcons on July 29 (Thursday) at the FilOil Arena.
Quarter Scoring: 17-16, 34-32, 47-46, 61-58
