THE ATENEO Lady Eagles won their fourth straight do-or-die game, beating the De La Salle University (DLSU) Lady Archers, 55-53 on Wednesday, November 25 at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
The Blue and White struggled defending the ladies in green early in the first quarter, falling behind with a score of 3-10. The Lady Eagles could not get 6’3” center Danica Jose the ball in the post, forcing Head Coach Erika Dy to find other ways for her team to score.
The second quarter also proved problematic for the Ateneo, as the Lady Archers’ defense–a full court press collapsing into a half court zone–further neutralized Jose’s offensive influence. The Blue and White compensated through the balanced scoring of Akiko Tomita, Katrina Guytingco, and graduating seniors Ther Aseron and Kai Javier. However, DLSU would then counter by ending the second quarter on a 13-3 run, leaving the Lady Eagles with an 11-point deficit at halftime.
With the Lady Eagles trailing, the pressure was on them to keep their championship hopes alive. Fortunately for them, shooting guard Hazelle Yam and sharpshooter Jolina Go stepped up–both scoring nine points each in the third quarter. Go, in particular, waxed hot early on, scoring all nine points from behind the arc.
The Ateneo continued to pressure DLSU and eventually regained the lead off a Yam three-pointer. All in all, the Lady Eagles ended up scoring 22 points in the third, with a 47-44 advantage heading into the final quarter.
With a spot in the finals on the line, both teams traded baskets and played lockdown defense in the fourth. Jose’s layup off the offensive rebound gave her team the 50-44 lead early on. However, a 6-0 DLSU run quickly negated the Ateneo’s lead with six minutes left in the game.
From then on, both teams struggled to score, with the only baskets from the Katipunan-based squad coming from Guytingco’s and Yam’s layups. But with the score at 54-53, the Lady Eagles finally caught a break when La Salle’s Marga Dagdagan attempted a three-pointer that hit the back iron. The Lady Archers then quickly fouled Javier to stop the clock with 7.3 seconds left.
Jose was then fouled on the succeeding play and drained one of her free throws, giving the Ateneo a two-point cushion. On the other end, Aracelle Abaca was unable to execute on her two attempts for the Taft-based squad, which gave the Lady Eagles the nail-biting victory.
Yam topscored the Blue and White with 19 points, leading all scorers from both rival teams. Meanwhile, Go showed off her range by finishing with 11 points. Jose, despite being neutralized on the offensive end, still maintained her influence on defense by finishing with six points, 19 rebounds, and two blocks.
“Maganda ‘yung nilaro namin today, pero kaya pa namin i-angat yung game namin (We played well today, but we can elevate our game even more),” Yam said.
Yam and co. will have a chance to do so as they take on DLSU in yet another semifinals showdown at 10AM, Saturday, November 28 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Cubao. The winner will move on to the finals to face the first-seeded National University Lady Bulldogs, who own a thrice-to-beat advantage.
Box Scores:
Ateneo 55 – Yam 19, Go 11, Jose 6, Tomita 6, Javier 6, Guytingco 4, Aseron 3, Buendia 0, Nitorreda 0, Deacon 0.
DLSU 53 – Penaranda 12, Abaca 11, Roxas 7, Vergara 5, Dagdagan 4, Castillo 4, Ong 4, Claro 4, Revillosa 2, Vela 0, Gonzales 0, Arciga 0.
Quarter Scores: 11-16, 25-36, 47-44, 55-53
