THE ATENEO Lady Eagles were defeated by defending champions National University (NU) Lady Bulldogs, 56-80, on Saturday, October 15 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Cubao.

Alyssa Villamor top-scored the Katipunan-based squad with 11 points on 5/8 shooting from the floor. Nicole Cancio and Melissa Newsome each had near double-doubles, with the former garnering 10 points and nine boards and the latter scoring eight and grabbing 11 rebounds.

The Lady Bulldogs were led by the dynamic duo of Afril Bernardino and Gemma Miranda. Bernardino dominated the game with 27 points on 58% shooting, 10 rebounds, five assists, and six steals, while Miranda scored an efficient 22 points, shooting 11/16 from the floor. Jack Animam had a double-double with 12 markers and 12 boards, 9 of which were offensive.

The game started with NU scoring a layup seconds after the opening tip. The Lady Eagles responded with two free throws from Cancio and a coast-to-coast layup by Yam. After four straight points from the Lady Bulldogs, Jollina Go completed a four-point play, after being fouled while shooting a triple, that gave Ateneo a one-point lead (8-7). That ended up being the last time the Lady Eagles led the whole game, after the six straight points by Miranda and Bernardino that gave NU a lead which never relinquished. After some back and forth action by both squads, the Lady Bulldogs ended the quarter with a 7-2 run capped by a Miranda baseline drive that gave them an eight-point lead (17-25) as the first quarter buzzer sounded.

The second period was when the game started to get out of hand for the Blue and White. The Lady Eagles only managed to score four points in the whole quarter compared to the 26 scored by NU. Bernardino drove and converted a layup that began the quarter for the Lady Bulldogs, and Florymae Ceno converted a corner triple that forced Ateneo to call a timeout with 8:50 left in the second quarter. After both teams traded baskets, Bernardino started to catch fire for the Lady Bulldogs. She scored eight straight points in a variety of ways, which forced Ateneo to call another timeout with 4:38 remaining in the half. NU did not stop there, as the team went on a 9-2 run after the break in action, highlighted by a triple by Ria Nabalan and a jumper by Miranda that ended the period. The Lady Eagles trailed NU by 28 (21-49) at halftime.

The Lady Bulldogs started the third by continuing where they left off, with Bernardino hitting back-to-back from downtown. Miranda hit a midrange jumper that extended NU’s lead to 35 (23-58), but Ateneo went on a 6-2 run after back-to-back baskets from Villamor. Both teams started to trade baskets yet again, but Camelo converted a corner 3 shortly before the period ended that gave NU a 34-point lead (33-67).

The fourth period began with Animam scoring inside, and Camelo hitting another corner triple for NU. Tomita scored for the Blue and White moments after, but Bernardino responded by banking in a two. Ateneo tried its hardest to cut the deficit down as the quarter progressed, but the Lady Bulldogs seemingly had a response for every Ateneo basket. At the 3:18 mark of the quarter, Miranda drove hard and converted a layup that gave NU a resounding 38-point lead (42-80). Ateneo ended the game with a 14-0 run during garbage time.

Overall, the Lady Bulldogs shot an efficient 51% from the floor and 38% from the 3-point line, compared to the 33% shooting clip from the floor for Ateneo. The Blue and White only made two triples in 20 attempts in the whole game.

After the game, Ateneo Coach John Flores said the result was because of the team’s lack of composure when the lead started to balloon. “What the game [did] for us was when [NU] led by as much as ten, when [NU] started leading by double figures. When we needed to be resilient and when we needed to make a stand, we were not able to do that,” he explained. “We became frantic when the lead went up to 16 when we should have been more composed, when we should have been more patient,” he added.

Next up for the Lady Eagles is their Katipunan rivals, the University of the Philippines Lady Warriors. The game will take place on Tuesday, October 18, at 1:00 PM in the San Juan Arena.

Quarter Scores: 17-23, 21-48, 33-67, 56-80

Box Scores:

Ateneo: Villamor- 11, Cancio- 10, Newsome- 8, Go- 8, Tomita- 6, Yam- 4, Moslares- 4, Uy De Ong- 2, Guytingco- 2, Deacon- 1

NU: Bernardino- 27, Miranda- 22, Animam- 12, Camelo- 9, Ceno- 6, Nabalan- 2, Harada- 2