THE ATENEO Lady Eagles succumbed to the University of the East (UE) Lady Warriors, 54-59, in their Philippine Chinese Amateur Basketball League (PCABL) match on Sunday, July 16 at the Buddhacare Academy Gym in Quezon City.
The Lady Eagles team was led by guard Jolina Go, who scored 22 of her 27 points in the second half alone on 7/15 shooting from deep. Hazelle Yam scored 11 and dished five dimes, while Trina Guytingco had a near double-double with nine points and 15 boards.
UE, on the other hand, was spearheaded by the duo of LJ Sto. Domingo and Unique Chan, who knocked in 20 points apiece.
Coming off a loss against La Salle in their previous game, the Lady Eagles looked to bounce back despite missing the services of Tina Deacon, who did not suit up for the match.
The Lady Warriors stormed out of the gate early, highlighted by an 11-0 run midway in the first period. Ateneo was unable to break UE’s stifling defense, and was outscored (8-16) as the first quarter drew to a close.
This trend continued until the first half ended, though triples by Go and Yam kept the Lady Eagles afloat. Go then exploded in the third quarter, opening the second half with a triple and following with three more from deep in a span of two minutes to cut the deficit to a single point at 44-45. A free throw by Guytingco eventually tied the game to level the playing field.
Midway through the fourth, tensions started to rise as UE Head Coach Aileen Lebornio was assessed back-to-back technical fouls for continuous complaining, which warranted an automatic ejection. She refused to leave the court, forcing officials to continue the game despite being technically disallowed to coach.
The Lady Eagles’ comeback came up short in the fourth, as they were unable to stop the Lady Warriors’ attack inside. Go rallied with back-to-back triples towards the end of the match, but that proved to be too little, too late as they were defeated by five, 54-59.
After the game, Ateneo Head Coach John Flores said that a big factor to the loss was the team’s inability to fully take advantage of their speed.
“We had the advantage because we’re quicker. Kat Guytingco was a lot shorter than most of their bigs, but she was able to get 15 boards.” he explained. “That’s the whole point, things like that happen because she took advantage of the quickness.”
The win lets the Lady Warriors keep their unblemished record at 4-0, while the Lady Eagles fall to 1-3. Ateneo’s next game is against Centro Escolar University on July 22, 12:30PM at the Buddhacare Academy Gym.
Box Scores:
Ateneo: Go – 27, Yam – 11, Guytingco – 9, Uy de Ong – 3, Payac – 3, Veloso – 1
UE: Chan – 20, Sto. Domingo – 20, Tacula – 6, Cortizano – 4, Gayacao – 4, Antonio – 3, Ramos – 2
