THE ATENEO Lady Eagles lost to University of the East (UE) Lady Warriors, 30-50, on Wednesday, October 26 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Cubao.
The loss brings Ateneo’s record down to 4-8 and now two games behind the 4th seed Adamson Lady Falcons (5-6). The Lady Eagles need to win their last two games while hoping that Adamson drops at least two of its last three games in order to force a play-off for the last Final 4 slot.
After Ateneo guard Hazelle Yam opened the scoring in the first quarter with a layup, the Lady Warriors went on a 10-0 run featuring two triples by Nicole Mendina. Love Sto. Domingo then banked in a triple to take the UE lead into double-digits, 7-17. Lady Eagle Binky Uy De Ong made a buzzer-beating triple to bring the deficit back to single digits at the end of the opening period, 11-19.
In the second quarter, the Lady Warriors went on another 10-0 run before Yam stopped the bleeding with a basket at the 5:11 mark to make the score, 13-29. After Yam was able to get a lay-in on a fastbreak, Sto. Domingo and Tacula put together five straight points for the deficit to go up to 19 at the half, 15-34.
In the second half, back-to-back baskets by Mendina forced Ateneo into a timeout with 4:08 left in the third period as the score was 19-41, in favor of the red side. A driving Uy De Ong was then able to find an open Yam in the right corner with a triple to make the score 22-45 heading into the final period.
Ateneo was able to bring th lead down to 19 through a left-handed bank shot by Melissa Newsome and an undergoal stab by Akiko Tomita as UE called a timeout with 7:42 left in the game, 26-45. Both teams then went cold from the field before Mendina broke the scoring drought with a triple going into the last two minutes of the game. As the final whistle blew, the scoreboard read, 30-50, in favor of the Lady Warriors.
Yam led the scoring for the Lady Eagles with 11 points, followed by Tomita with 6.
Mendina scored a game-high 15 points for UE. Eunique Chan and Sto. Domingo, who both finished with 9 points, dominated the boards for the Lady Warriors nabbing 18 and 14 rebounds respectively.
After the game, Ateneo Coach John Flores lamented the team’s performance in the fist half. “We weren’t in sync. We were taking really bad shot. We were impatient. The first half was the one that did us in.”
Next for the Lady Eagles is the first of their two must-win games, as they play against University of Santo Tomas on Saturday, October 29 at 8AM at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Cubao.
Quarter Scores (Ateneo-UE): 11-19, 15-34, 22-45, 30-50
Box Scores:
Ateneo: Yam- 11, Tomita- 6, Go- 5, Uy De Ong- 4, Cancio– 2, Newsome 2, Deacon- 2
UE – Mendina- 15, Chan- 9, Sto. Domingo- 9, Ramos- 8, Tacula- 7, Strachan- 2
