THE ATENEO Lady Eagles defeated the FEU Lady Tamaraws, 60-56, on Wednesday, September 21, 2016, at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
The win brings Ateneo’s record up to 2-2, whilst FEU falls to 1-3 in the 1st round of the UAAP Women’s Basketball tournament.
Yam and Uy De Ong were Ateneo’s top performers with 14 points and 6 rebounds each. Go contributed 11 points and 7 rebounds before fouling out. While Mamaril carried the scoring load for FEU with 23 points, followed by Maria Balleser with nine points and eight rebounds.
Lady Eagle Jollina Go waxed hot in the first quarter scoring three straight triples to begin the game, whilst Alyssa Villamor added one of her own to give Ateneo a 16-12 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Just as Ateneo was building up an 8-point lead in the 2nd, Lady Eagles coach John Flores was slapped with a technical foul for incessant complaining against the referees. This helped FEU mount a 7-0 run that brought Ateneo lead down to one (22-21). Four points off a lay-up from Hazelle Yam and a pretty give-and-go play between Nicole Cancio and Akiko Tomita increased the lead again as the game headed into the break (29-25).
The Lady Eagles started off ice cold in the third quarter, scoring their first basket after more than three minutes into the quarter through a drive by Katrina Guytingco. However, baskets from Tomita and Jonette Uy De Ong helped Ateneo get the lead back up to six points. The Lady Tamaraws used free throws to stay in the game as Ateneo found themselves in the penalty early in the quarter. Commotion then began when Guytingco was found bleeding after clashing heads with a Lady Tamaraws. At that point, Coach Flores, who was fuming at the referees, was called for a second technical foul and was ejected from the game. Coach Chris Bautista took over duties and the Lady Eagles held on to a one point lead heading into the final quarter.
After the Lady Tamaraws got their first lead of the game early in the fourth, Ateneo stormed back through a 12-2 run to make the score (51-42). Lady Tamaraw Valerie Mamaril then went on a solo 5-0 run to cut the deficit down to five. Free throws by Uy De Ong, Yam, and Tomita regained the lead to seven points with less than two minutes left in the game despite Go fouling out of the game. A run by FEU cut the lead down to two as Lady Eagle Nicole Cancio also fouled out in the process. Despite the mounting comeback, important defensive stops and crucial free throws by Uy De Ong and Yam helped Ateneo hold on for the win.
After the game, Coach Chris Bautista credited the win to the team’s resilience. “[When] Katrina [Guytingco] got hurt, doon kami nabuhay. Tapos, walang sumuko sa mga bata,” said Bautista (When Katrina Guytingco go hurt, that’s when we got back up. Then, no one gave up among the kids. “Ang importante ay nagtulong-tulong as a team (The important thing is that we helped each other out as a team).”
Next up for the Lady Eagles will be a battle-tested match against the UE Lady Warriors squad on Saturday, September 24 at 10am in the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
Quarter scores: 16-12, 29-25, 39-38, 60-56
Box Scores:
Ateneo: Yam- 14, Uy De Ong- 14, Go- 11, Tomita- 6, Guytingco- 5, Deacon- 4, Cancio- 3, Villamor- 3
FEU: Mamaril- 23, Balleser- 9, Payadon- 6, Ouano- 6, Arellado- 5, Ventura- 3, Gerner- 2, Capua- 2
