ONE PASS. Two passes. Three passes. Four. Five passes. Six passes. Seven, and there were no more.
In what turned out to be a case of “winning ugly,” the Battle of Katipunan featured a total of 57 turnovers, with the Ateneo Lady Eagles holding back the UP Lady Maroons, 41-30, on the 24th of July at the Blue Eagle Gym.
Utilizing a full court press the entire game, the Lady Eagles forced their State U counterparts into a panicked frenzy, oftentimes causing them to commit error after error. Ateneo’s sticky defense ruined UP’s offensive sets, and most of the latter’s shot clock was chipped away with too much passing.
At the beginning though, the Lady Maroons seemed to be hitting all the right notes, as they raced out to an eight point lead, 11-3, after six minutes of play. Several possessions later, and their defense settling in, the Lady Eagles edged ahead at the end of the first quarter, 12-11.
With the momentum on their side, Lady Eagle Sarah Mercado capped off the 12 to nothing run with a sidestepping fast break basket. For nearly seven and a half minutes, Ateneo held UP scoreless, but they would be outhustled inside as the Lady Maroons corralled countless offensive rebounds.
Bannered by three-point bombs from Sheryanne Luna and Kryzza Casiño, the Lady Maroons headed into the locker rooms with a two point lead, 23-21, at the half.
The third quarter featured a Lady Eagle team with renewed spunk. With their full court presses doing wonders, Mercado led the charge, constantly attacking the basket and finishing the period with six points. After going up 25 to 23, Ateneo would never look back again, and would enter the fourth with a comfortable 33-27 cushion.
It was more of the same in the final canto, as the towering presence of Danica Jose and the feisty individual defense of Ish Tiu kept the Lady Maroons at bay. Combined with penetrating dribble-drive offense from Sara Bo-ot and Jennifer Dimaano, the Lady Eagles created an insurmountable lead late into the game.
As Tiu blocked yet another three-point prayer, Ateneo walked off the hardwood with their second win in three games.
After allowing 23 points in the first half, the Lady Eagles held UP to only seven in the game’s last 20 minutes. The Diliman-based squad had an atrocious shooting clip from beyond the arc, as they connected on only 4 of their 26 attempts. Though Ateneo was greatly outrebounded, 53 to 38, their defense provided just enough for the W.
On his team’s sudden improvement during the second half, Ateneo Coach Chris Quimpo said, “It’s not the perfect game that you’d hope for, but the girls showed character. They showed heart.”
The Lady Eagles will next face the FEU Lady Tamaraws at 3:00 PM at the Blue Eagle Gym this Wednesday, July 27.
Scoring Leaders:
ADMU, 41: Mercado 11, Estrada 6, Jose 6, Bo-ot 4, Chua 4, Dimaano 4, Ong 3, Tiu 2, Aseron 1, Tantoco 0, Morales 0
UP, 30: Bautista 8, Luna 8, Casiño 5, Daez 3, Paz 2, Topacio 2, Wong 2, Binamira 0, Furagganan 0, Hufanda 0, Luna 0, Mercado 0
Quarter Scoring: 12-11, 21-23, 33-27, 41-30
