FROM THE moment National University (NU) Lady Bulldog Shelley Gupilan drained a three pointer from the right wing to start the game, the undefeated squad from Sampaloc had the Ateneo Lady Eagles trying to overcome a lead the rest of the way.
It was simply not the Ateneo’s day, as the Lady Eagles lost against NU, 59-91 in the first game of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines Season 78 Women’s Basketball championship round on Wednesday, December 2 at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
The Lady Bulldogs looked refreshed coming off a two-week layoff, showing no signs of rust while displaying their superb ball movement and aggression on the glass; NU ended the game with a 19-12 advantage in assists and a 64-42 advantage in rebounds. Additionally, their full court press troubled the Lady Eagles throughout the game, with the Katipunan-based squad finishing with 16 turnovers.
However, the Lady Eagles did not come this far for nothing, as they continued to put up a fight despite the large NU lead. They overcame a lethargic first half as well as a quick 6-0 NU run to start the third by finally getting baskets from wings Katrina Guytingco and Hazelle Yam, as well as center Danica Jose. The Blue and White would then close out the third quarter on a 6-0 run, courtesy off steals from Jollina Go and Ther Aseron.
That momentum, however, was short-lived. After a free throw from Aseron and a three-ball from Go, NU went on a 6-0 counter run in the final quarter–making sure the Lady Eagles never got close in the game.
Guytingco received a rare start from Head Coach Erika Dy, and she repaid that faith by leading the Blue and White in scoring with 14 points to go along with seven rebounds. She often ran the point for the Lady Eagles while simultaneously showing off her ability to drive into the paint and absorb contact to get her points.
“We really tried our best to beat NU,” she said after the match. “I really want us to be able to prove to ourselves to other people that we can beat NU.”
Despite going up against a towering Lady Bulldog frontcourt, Jose managed to finish the game strong with a double-double performance of 13 points and 10 rebounds. Meanwhile, Aseron was a spark off the bench as well, scoring nine points while playing pesky defense–as evidenced by her two steals.
Season 78 Most Valuable Player Afril Bernardino led the way for NU with an efficient 17 points off 54% field goal shooting to go along with a game-high 18 rebounds, while Risa Paig followed her up with 16 points of her own.
“We need to work mainly on our defense because we were letting them get to the basket too easy, and we need to learn to box out more and get the ball,” Guytingco said.
This loss puts the Lady Eagles on the brink of being eliminated in their finals series versus the Lady Bulldogs. The Blue and White will need to gut out three consecutive games in order to win the championship, while NU will only need to win their next game scheduled on Saturday, December 5, 2015.
Box Scores:
Ateneo 59 – Guytingco 14, Jose 13, Aseron 9, Go 7, Yam 6, Deacon 4, Tomita 3, Buendia 2, Javier 1, Nitorreda 0.
NU 91 – Bernardino 17, Paig 16, Gupilan 14, Miranda 9, Tongco 6, Itesi 6, Antiquera 5, Nabalan 4, Harada 4, Sison 3, Riel 3, Del Carmen 2, Abriam 0, Reyes 0 , Layug 0.
Quarter Scores: 10-21, 20-43, 36-65, 59-91.
