THE ATENEO Lady Eagles lost in a down to the wire game to the Adamson Lady Falcons in overtime, 64-65 on Sunday, October 23, in the Araneta Coliseum, Quezon City.
The Katipunan-based were led by Hazelle Yam, who had 13 points on 5/13 shooting, six assists, and five steals. Jollina Go contributed with 12 points while shooting 40% from the floor, and Tina Deacon had herself a double-double with 10 points and 13 rebounds.
Jamie Alcoy top-scored the Lady Falcons with 16 points and two made threes. She was supplemented by Nathalia Prado and Myra Osano, as they each scored 10 on 50% shooting. Kaye Pingol had seven points and lead the team in assists with five.
Adamson drew first blood with back-to-back baskets to begin the game. After a Deacon make at the other end and Jonalyn Lacson free throw, the Lady Falcons went scoreless for the rest of the quarter due to cold shooting and solid inside defense from the Lady Eagles. Ateneo capitalized on Adamson’s drought by going on a 10-0 run to end end the quarter, punctuated by a triple by Alyssa Villamor before the buzzer sounded.
The Lady Eagles started the second period on fire, racing to a double digit lead thanks to a 10-2 run by a Yam and-1 and a Go triple. After an Alcoy layup, Go hit a tough baseline floater plus the foul and bonus free throw make to give the Lady Eagles a 16-point lead (25-9), their biggest of the game. Adamson did not let up, as they went on a 9-3 run to end the period, cutting their deficit to 10 by halftime (28-18).
The game started to slow down for both teams throughout the third period, as both squads started to foul and trade free throws. Alcoy hit a three towards the end of the period, that broke the free throw streak and cut Ateneo’s lead to single digits (43-36). After three straight points from Villamor, Adamson sank two charities yet again as the third quarter ended that brought Ateneo’s lead to just eight.
The first four minutes of the fourth quarter saw both teams trading baskets, with Osano hitting from beyond the arc and Deacon muscling a shot inside. Moments after, Ateneo went on a 6-0 run, with Yam scoring four straight from consecutive layups that gave the Lady Eagles a 13-point lead with 4:21 remaining in the match. With the game seemingly in Ateneo’s hands, the Lady Falcons went on a run of their own to gain momentum. Kathleen Araja hit a triple and Camacho went on a 5-0 solo run to cut the deficit to five points (55-50). Tomita hit a face up jumper moments later to stop the run, but Pingol responded with a layup to bring the deficit back to five. With 39.8 seconds remaining in the game, Alcoy pounced on an errant Ateneo pass, and converted a tough shot inside plus the foul. She made the bonus free throw that cut Ateneo’s lead to just two points. After a turnover by the Lady Eagles in the ensuing possession, Alcoy came up big yet again for the Lady Falcons and hit a layup with 6.1 seconds left that tied the game 57-all. The game went to overtime after a three point heave by Jonette Uy De Ong went wayward as the regulation buzzer sounded.
Both teams failed to score in the first few minutes of overtime, but Osano broke the deadlock with a triple for the Lady Falcons. Uy De Ong responded with a triple of her own that tied the game, and rookie Boom Moslares came up big and drove and scored inside with a little over a minute remaining in the game that gave Ateneo a two-point lead (62-60). With 51.9 seconds left in the game, Prado converted a basket inside that tied the game once again. She was not done there, as Prado came up for Adamson with a two-point basket that gave them the lead (62-64). With 9.1 seconds left in the game, Melissa Newsome was fouled inside in the act of shooting. With a chance to tie the game, she only made one free throw that cut Adamson’s lead to a single point. Alcoy was then intentionally fouled in the possession after, but she missed one of two free throws as well. With no timeouts remaining in the dying moments of the game, Uy De Ong got the ball and raced to the other of the court. She drew a foul in her layup attempt with three seconds left in the game. Presented with a chance to tie the game, she sank the first free throw, but missed the second one. Newsome grabbed the rebound after the miss, but her putback attempt did not go in as the buzzer sounded.
The Lady Eagles lead most the whole game until their collapse in the last 4 minutes of the game, where Adamson went on a 15-2 run. Ateneo was also marred by foul trouble. Yam, Katrina Guytingco, and Akiko Tomita each had four fouls, while Nicole Cancio fouled out of the game with five fouls.
With the win, Adamson now have solo fourth place with a 5-6 win-loss record, while Ateneo fall to fifth with a 4-7 record. The Lady Eagles’ next game will be against the University of the East Lady Warriors on Saturday, November 5 at 10:00 AM, in the Araneta Coliseum, Quezon City.
Quarter Scores: 12-5, 28-18, 46-38, 57-57, 64-65
Box Scores:
Ateneo: Yam- 13, Go- 12, Deacon- 10, Villamor- 7, Uy De Ong- 6, Moslares- 5, Newsome- 4, Tomita- 4, Guytingco- 3, Cancio- 0
AdU: Alcoy- 16, Prado- 10, Osano- 10, Pingol- 7, Lacson- 6, Araja- 6, Camacho- 6, Razalo- 2, Cacho- 2, Cabug- 0
