Following the loss of the Blue Eagles the previous day, the Ateneo Lady Eagles suffered the same fate at the hands of the Adamson Lady Falcons, 49-42, on September 11 at the Blue Eagle Gym.
The San Marcelino-based squad shut the door on Ateneo’s Final Four hopes the week before, making the late afternoon matchup a mere consolation game for the Blue and White. Despite this, the game proved to be a cagey affair, as both sides looked to conclude the elimination round on a high.
The opening period started off slow, with both squads scoring just seven points between them in the first five minutes of play. After which, every basket the Katipunan-based squad converted was answered by the consistent Adamson offense. With the Lady Falcons refusing to give the lead up, the quarter ended 11-9 in their favor.
A disastrous quarter ensued for the Lady Eagles as their offense stalled, scoring only seven points the entire session. Adding to their woes was an unsportsmanlike foul tagged on Sarah Mercado just 20 seconds in the period. Adamson continued their consistent scoring, as their defense frustrated the home side’s advances, preventing the Ateneo five from scoring for more than six minutes.
The Lady Eagles avoided going into the half with a double-digit deficit with to a Valerie Chua field goal with four seconds remaining. The clock expired with the score at 23-14, with Adamson still in lead.
Coming off the restart, Lady Eagle Ish Tiu attempted to spark a run by making two consecutive baskets in the first minute. But careless ball-handling caused Ateneo to give the ball away in more than one occasion, gifting the Lady Falcons easy looks at the basket, which ultimately canceled out Tiu’s efforts.
In the last two minutes, the Lady Falcons, whose offense was consistent throughout the game, again answered every Ateneo attack, and kept their lead at double digits. The quarter concluded with the Adamson up 13, 40-27.
The ladies in blue started off strong in the first two minutes of the concluding canto with a 6-0 run, cutting their deficit to seven points, 33-40. However, they were not able to build on their momentum as Adamson yet again canceled out all Lady Eagle efforts. A strong showing by Sara Bo-ot, who scored six of her game-high 14 points in the quarter, was not enough to save Ateneo, as the Lady Falcons walked away the winners in this chapter of the UAAP’s battle of birds.
Ending the season in solo fifth with an equal 7-7 record, the Lady Eagles bid an emotional farewell to seniors Mercado, Tiu, Chua, Corrine Javier, Therese Estrada, and Sam Ong, who all stood in front of the team as they sang A Song for Mary one last time.
Thus concludes the Lady Eagles’ Season 74, which included several highs and lows. Looking forward to UAAP Season 75, the future looks bright for our women’s basketball team.
Scoring Leaders:
ADU, 49: Ortega 12, Buendia 10, Bernardo 6, Balasta 6, Taller 5, Taroja 2, Figueras 2, De Leon 2, Avila 2, Versoza 2, Gadian 0
ADMU, 42: Bo-ot 14, Mercado 10, Tiu 7, Chua 4, Dimaano 3, Jose 2, Ong 2, Aseron 0, Morales 0, Estrada 0
Quarter Scoring: 11-9, 23-14, 40-27, 49-42
