THE ATENEO Lady Eagles and the University of the East (UE) Lady Warriors were tied in the standings at 2-4 as the end of the first elimination round loomed. But a convincing 50-35 win on August 10 at the Blue Eagle Gym left the Blue and White with the momentum heading into the second round of Season 77.
The win boosted the Lady Eagles’standings to 3-4 while sliding the Lady Warriors down to a 2-5 record.
A turnover-plagued start by both teams had the game stuck at single digits for most of the first quarter until back-to-back three pointers by veterans Claire Aseron and Likha Javier pushed the score to 11-all as time expired.
Curiously starting the game off the bench despite an undersized UE frontcourt, six-foot-tall center Danica Jose quickly made her presence felt once she was subbed in. With a myriad of blocks and rebounds, she deftly anchored the middle for the Lady Eagles as she helped the team outscore UE in the paint, 30-16. During the second quarter alone, she dominated her opponents in the paint by churning out six points against the aggressive trapping defense.
The start of the second half saw Ateneo slowly break away from their Red and White counterparts. A relentless fast break attack led by Jose’s outlet passing as well as Aseron and Javier’s finishing abilities eventually wilted down the Lady Warriors.
One sequence saw Jose grab the rebound over the UE frontcourt and toss it to a streaking Javier in the open court for an easy layup that pushed the Lady Eagles up to 31-25 with 7:46 left in the third. The impressive display of offense morphed a tied ball game into a 37-26 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
The Ateneo lead was not put into question in the fourth as the Lady Eagles cruised to the final score of 50-35.
Jose led the way for Ateneo with a game-high 16 points, 18 rebounds, and two blocks on 71% shooting. She was followed by strong efforts from veterans Caramia Buendia and Akiko Tomita who both scored eight points each for the Blue and White. Sharpshooter Aseron also contributed seven points for the squad.
The Lady Warriors, meanwhile, showed a more balanced effort despite the loss with Ruthlaine Tacula leading the way with seven points. Although none of her teammates scored more than five, shooting guard Chery Joy Ano-os managed to complement Tacula by grabbing an unexpected 17 rebounds, five of them coming from the offensive end.
The Lady Warriors did not do themselves any favors by shooting a combined 14 out of 77 from the field, which translated to an 18% field goal percentage. Meanwhile, Ateneo capitalized on these misses by converting them into 10 fast break points on the other end.
