JUST THREE days after their male counterparts sent the University of the Philippines (UP) Fighting Maroons crashing, the Ateneo Lady Eagles did the same, seeing off the UP Lady Maroons, 53-43, on September 4 at the Blue Eagle Gym.
Mirroring the first installment of this season’s Battle of Katipunan, both squads failed to keep possession of the ball, committing 48 turnovers between them. Despite this, the Loyola Heights-based squad shot better from all parts of the floor, canceling out UP’s advances and giving them the lead the entire game.
Ateneo dominated the opening quarter, limiting the Lady Maroons to a single-digit output. The quarter ended 18-7 in favor of the Blue and White.
More or less the same ensued in the second quarter, as the Lady Eagles dominated UP thoroughly. Atenean Sara Bo-ot put up a good performance, sinking two three-pointers—one early on and the other in the closing minutes of the canto—as the Diliman-based squad ended the first half staring at a 17-point deficit, 17-34.
At the restart, the Lady Maroons applied more pressure—something they lacked in the first half—and it paid them dividends. The ladies in blue were held to just one basket for seven minutes as UP cut their deficit to a manageable seven points. However, Sam Ong was quickly able to spark a revival, draining a three that put Ateneo’s lead back to double-digits. The Lady Eagles then held their opponents scoreless, with the quarter ending 43-29, still in their favor.
During the game’s final 10 minutes, the pesky UP defense again gave the Ateneo offense a problem. Therese Estrada was the lone Lady Eagle to make a field goal during another seven-minute drought, beating the 24-second shot clock for a hard earned basket. UP then cut the lead to six points with roughly three minutes remaining.
With the tension building, Ong broke the Lady Maroons’ hearts as she hit another three-pointer with 20 seconds to go, and finally put the game out of question, 47-43. The Lady Eagles walked the final seconds away with their second consecutive victory to the score.
“One last game, next week,” Ateneo Head Coach Chris Quimpo said after the game. “We have to win it.”
The Lady Eagles take on the Adamson Lady Falcons, the team currently fourth in the team standings, on September 11 at the Blue Eagle Gym.
Scoring Leaders:
ADMU, 53: Mercado 16, Ong 13, Bo-ot 6, Jose 6, Dimaano 4, Chua 4, Aseron 2, Estrada 2, Tantoco 0, Castro 0, Torre 0, Tiu 0, Javier 0
UP, 43: Mercado 10, Salapong 6, Paz 6, Wong 4, Luna 4, Casiño 4, Daez 3, Topacio 2, Furgganan 2, Binamira 2, Pioquinto 0, Hufanda 0
Quarter Scoring: 18-7, 34-17, 43-29, 53-43
