THE ATENEO Lady Eagles lost against the University of Sto. Tomas (UST) Tigresses, 54-55 on Thursday, July 24 at the Blue Eagle Gym. They drop to 2-1 in the elimination round standings.
Ateneo’s leading scorer, Danica Jose, was limited to just eight points in 16 minutes of action as she garnered four quick fouls in the first half. UST took advantage of Ateneo’s lack of inside presence as they managed to get themselves to the free throw line.
At one point in the second quarter, the Tigresses shot six consecutive free throws due to a regular foul that was coupled with two technical fouls called against Ateneo. The girls in blue and white trailed the opening half with the score of 24-27.
Veteran player Ther Aseron, however, answered back for the Lady Eagles as she opened the third quarter with seven straight points, care of aggressive drives to the lane and fast break finishes. Ateneo’s other players stepped up for the Blue and White as a a Sara Bo-ot triple and a Hazelle Yam contact layup gave the Lady Eagles their biggest lead of the game at 40-35. But the Tigresses were able to retaliate quickly, as they tied the score at 41-all with Kim Reyes’ precision from the mid-range.
Ateneo struggled in the final quarter as UST piled up their biggest advantage of the game at 49-41. Ateneo only scored their first field goal of the quarter at the 4:40 mark with another Yam layup. But Yam’s basket propelled the Lady Eagles to bounce back in the late stages of the quarter The Lady Eagles sparked a 9-4 scoring run led by Cara Buendia and Jose’s multiple trips to the foul line.
Jose brought Ateneo on top at 54-53 with 23 seconds left on the clock with two made free throws. Unfortunately for the Lady Eagles, the Tigresses responded quickly with an inside basket that left Ateneo with 15.7 seconds to work with in the final possession. A botched field goal attempt by the Katipunan-based squad sealed the win for the Tigresses and handed Ateneo their first loss of the season.
UST’s Jen Angeles led all scorers with 14 points and was followed by Maica Cortes’ double double performance of 10 points and 14 rebounds.
Aseron had another strong game despite the loss, as she finished with a team-high of 13 points, with five of nine shooting from the field. Yam followed as she notched 11 markers for the Lady Eagles.
Despite Ateneo’s 19-4 advantage from fast break baskets the Tigresses made up for it as they bragged the 53-40 gap in rebounds.
Support the Lady Eagles in their next game as they will be against the National University Bulldogs, 11PM, Sunday, July 27 at the Blue Eagle Gym.
