LED BY the stellar play of team captain Sarah Mercado and center Danica Jose, the Ateneo Lady Eagles crushed the UST Tigresses, 74-54, in their final game of the season at the FilOil Flying V Arena in San Juan on September 16.
The win was the final bow for veterans Mercado, Denice Tiu, Corinne Javier, Valeria Chua and Samantha Ong as they wrapped up their fifth and final playing year for the Ateneo women’s basketball team.
The game tipped off with a blistering start by the Lady Eagles as they built a commanding 9-0 lead in the first five minutes of the game, thanks to the tag-team of Mercado and Jose.
This offensive surge was accompanied by a stifling team defense, which helped hold UST scoreless. Jose capped off the run with a strong move in the paint against UST center Maica Cortes, who fouled her in the process, and gave an opportunity to convert the three-point play at the 5:33 mark of the first quarter.
After remaining scoreless for over six minutes, the UST Tigresses finally got in the scoreboard with a bank shot off the glass by Cortes. Ateneo, however, quickly countered with two strong layups by Marie Claire Aseron and Mercado to bring the score to 14-4 in favor of the Lady Eagles.
UST’s Lore Rivera was able to convert a shot off a brilliant Cortes assist just as the clock expired. After deliberation, however, the play was ruled to have been completed after the clock expired, thus ending the first quarter with the score 16-6.
Both sides traded blows to start the second quarter. A three-pointer by Ong and another strong post move by Jose pushed the lead to 21-7 at the eight-minute mark. Cortes tried to keep the game close by making one of her two free throws, but the Lady Eagles rained threes courtesy of Sara Bo-ot and Ong, respectively, to extend the lead to 17 points, 27-10.
A three-point bank shot by Marian Mejia with 6:15 left in the second quarter sparked a 12-4 run for UST. Consecutive turnovers by the Lady Eagles translated into easy inside opportunities for UST post players Cortes and Kristine Siapoc, who dominated the paint. The UST run, however, quickly died down when Siapoc got hurt after colliding with three Ateneo defenders with 49 seconds left in the half. The score was 33-24 in favor of the Lady Eagles.
The second half started off slowly, with both teams struggling to score for the first five minutes. UST’s Kim Reyes scored a driving layup against Ateneo’s Javier to cut the lead to eight points with 4:23 left on the clock. Another Reyes layup and a Rivera baseline jumper then cut the lead even further to six, 41-35, with a minute to go in the quarter. But just as things were finally looking up for the Tigresses, Angelica Morales responded for the Blue and White by hitting a three just as time expired to up the lead to 53-41 going into the final quarter.
It was the final chance for UST to finish off their season with a win, but Ateneo simply would not let them take it. Ten seconds into the quarter, Jennifer Dimaano stole the ball away from UST and scored an easy transition layup.
Mercado took over in the net minute. With a flurry of her signature sidesteps and crossovers, Mercado lit up the scoreboard with nine of her game-high 18 points in a span of tw0 minutes to give Ateneo its highest lead at 20 points, 67-47. With 4:50 left on the clock and the game well at hand thanks to her valiant efforts, Mercado was substituted, with a standing ovation from the crowd waiting for her as she went to the bench.
With the score at 69-49 and one minute left in the game, all remaining Ateneo starters were subbed with Alyana Nitorreda, Kristina Deacon, Angelica Morales, Klarizze Posadas and Jennifer Dimaano—the future of the Lady Eagles. A three-point shot by Morales sealed the deal for Ateneo with a score of 74-54.
Mercado led the way for the Lady Eagles with 18 points, while Jose contributed a double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds.
Cortes, meanwhile, led the Tigresses with a stellar performance, finishing the game with a team-high 17 points and 17 rebounds.
The win marks the end of Season 75 for the Ateneo Lady Eagles. They ended the season with an improved record of 7-7, missing the Final Four with a 5th seed finish. Meanwhile, the UST Tigresses finished with 5-9 to place 6th.
Box scores:
Ateneo: 74 – Mercado 18, Ong 13, Aseron 12, Jose, 11, Morales, 9, Bo-ot 5, Chua 4, Dimaano 2
UST: 54 – Cortes 17, Reyes 9, Rivera 6, Mejia 6, Siapoc 5, Andrade 5, Ong 4, Villanueva 2
