THE ATENEO Lady Eagles defeated the Far Eastern University (FEU) Lady Tamaraws, 60-51 on Sunday, October 11, 2015 at the Blue Eagle Gym in Quezon City.
Lining up against the Lady Tamaraws, the game marked the start of the second round for the ballers from Katipunan, who were coming off a two-game winning streak to end the first round.
The ladies were looking to continue the momentum in their charge up the rankings. However, it was the Lady Tamaraws who came out of the gates running. They started off with a 7-2 run, capped off by an offensive putback by Claire Castro.
With the paint clogged by the towering duo of Castro and Yetunde Okunlola, the Lady Eagles could not get the ball to their star, Danica Jose. They were forced to look for other approaches to get points on the board, which came in a combination of midrange jumpshots and attacking runs to the basket. The quarter ended with the visitors still in control, 15-13.
An and-one play off an offensive board from Danica Jose sparked the Lady Eagles in the second quarter, where they looked to use their speed to run fast breaks and tire out their taller but slower rivals. This worked to perfection and they took a 29-25 lead heading into the half-time break.
If they went to the break hot, they came out even hotter. With Castro mired in foul trouble after picking up her third early in the third on the offensive block, the Lady Eagles took advantage of the moment. Jose and Tomita denied three shots between them which led to more fastbreak opportunities for the Blue and White. With their efforts, the lead ballooned up to 15 points with 1:53 left in the quarter, the largest of the game.
It was at this point when fireworks ensued, as FEU Head Coach Bert Flores’ incessant complaints nabbed him a technical foul and he was finally sent out after physical contact with an official.
The ejection seemed to have lit a fire under the squad from Morayta, however. Scoreless in the third quarter up to that point, the squad suddenly fired up and scored nine points up to the end of the quarter, trimming the lead to a more manageable 10 points.
The Ateneans leaned on Trina Guytingco–who had a minor ankle scare just before halftime–to stop the charge of the Tamaraws. She did so by hitting a tough turnaround jumper over the arms of Castro, then drawing a disqualifying foul from Loraine Ventura.
The game then became the Hazelle Yam show, as she scored 10 of her 15 points in the final 6:46 of the game. The promising sophomore used her speed advantage to run the fastbreak and her skills at the rim to finish layups and grab and-one opportunities to finish off the Lady Tamaraws.
This win puts the Lady Eagles at 4-4 in the elimination round standings of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines Season 78 Women’s Basketball tournament.
Their next game will be against the National University Lady Bulldogs on Sunday, October 18, 2015 at the Blue Eagle Gym, Quezon City.
