COMING OFF a disappointing loss to archrivals La Salle, the Ateneo Lady Eagles broke their two-game losing streak against the National University (NU) Lady Bulldogs, 60-49, on August 31 at the Blue Eagle Gym.
In what turned out to be a one-sided affair, the Katipunan-based squad deterred much of the Lady Bulldogs’ advances, taking possession of the lead the entire game. Strong performances from the Lady Eagles’ starting five gave the team the much needed boost.
Ateneo held their counterparts scoreless during the first seven minutes of play, while scoring 11 points in the process. Pamela Meneses snapped the Lady Bulldogs’ drought with 3:48 to play, only to be answered almost immediately by Lady Eagle rookie Danica Jose. An Ish Tiu basket with 50 seconds remaining kept the Ateneo lead at eight, as the quarter ended in their favor, 15-7.
The Sampaloc-based squad attempted a revival at the start of the second quarter, only to be thwarted by Team Captain Sarah Mercado, who would eventually score 8 of her 15 points in the second quarter alone. Another attempted run by NU was simply shrugged off as the first half concluded with Ateneo up, 32-20.
The restart didn’t mirror the first two quarters for the Blue and White, as they only scored seven points—compared to NU’s 13—with only two field goals coming from Jose and Tiu. Despite this, Ateneo still held on to the lead, at 39-33.
A turnaround for the Lady Eagles ensued in the final quarter. Jose and Mercado formed an effective tandem, leading the Ateneo charge as they scored a total of 21 points. The stubborn NU attack had again attempted to reduce the deficit in the latter minutes, but clutch free throw shooting by Tiu, Sara Bo-ot, Jennifer Dimaano and Valerie Chua put the game beyond the Lady Bulldogs reach.
Scoring in double-digits for the ladies in blue was the trio of Jose, Mercado and Bo-ot, who scored 15, 15 and 11 respectively. Although NU had the superior field goal percentage, the three Lady Eagles shot at least 50% from both the field and the stripe.
At game’s end, Ateneo Coach Chris Quimpo said of their victory, “After two straight losses, hopefully this puts us back on track.”
Now in solo fifth position, Quimpo talked about the games ahead and the possibility making the postseason. “We need to win the next two games in order to qualify for the Final Four, which is our main goal,” he said.
“We go up against [the University of the Philippines] on Sunday, and after, Adamson, which is our biggest task. They just lost today so I hope we can build on that.”
As Quimpo already mentioned, he and his girls face the UP Lady Maroons on Sunday, September 4, 9:00 AM at the Blue Eagle Gym.
Scoring Leaders:
ADMU, 60: Jose 15, Mercado 15, Bo-ot 11, Tiu 9, Dimaano 5, Ong 3, Chua 2, Aseron 0, Castro 0, Morales 0, Javier 0, Estrada 0
NU, 49: Miranda 17, Tolentino 8, Meneses 7, Alia 6, Oriel 5, Pama 3, Mendoza 3, Nadres 0, Santos 0
Quarter Scoring: 15-7, 32-20, 39-33, 60-49
