In line with the ongoing University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 81 Women’s Basketball tournament, this series will dive into the details of the Ateneo Lady Eagles’ performance as they push for a final four spot.

Recap of the week (October 17 – October 27)

Photo by Kelly Veneracion

After losing five straight games to end the first round of UAAP Season 81, the Ateneo Lady Eagles sorely needed to bounce back with a string of wins. In an earlier game, the Blue and White pulled off an impressive performance against the Far Eastern University (FEU) Lady Tamaraws, but could not hold on for the win as FEU made a late comeback to snatch the game, 71-73, last October 17.

Ateneo made sure to make the necessary changes before their next match against the University of the Philippines (UP) Lady Maroons. A clean offensive showing from the Lady Eagles was enough to dispatch their Katipunan-neighbors, 63-51, last October 21 to establish a 2-0 head-to-head record.

The Lady Eagles were on a high going into the match against the University of the East (UE) Lady Warriors last October 27. Ateneo’s ball movement paired up with their three-point shooting overpowered the UE side, 69-63, to hand them their fourth win of UAAP Season 81.

Ateneo-FEU: 22-16, 40-32, 62-50, 71-73

Ateneo-UP: 21-8, 37-23, 52-34, 63-51

Ateneo-UE: 22-14, 42-29, 54-43, 69-63

Upcoming games

November 4, Sunday, 10AM vs National University (NU) Lady Bulldogs

November 7, Wednesday, 10AM vs University of Santo Tomas (UST) Golden Tigresses

November 13, Tuesday, 3PM vs De La Salle University (DLSU) Lady Archers

November 16, Friday, 11AM vs Adamson University (AdU) Lady Falcons

1. Turnovers are a major weakness

Photo by Ralph Lim

Turnovers have been the Lady Eagles’ achilles heel for the majority of UAAP Season 81 round 1. At the end of the first round, they have averaged almost 25 turnovers per game. This high turnover count has cost the team points on the break and has proved disruptive to their offensive momentum.

Since the end of the first round, Ateneo has attempted to address these issues. The Lady Eagles managed to cut their turnover count in half, committing only 12 turnovers against FEU. This has allowed them to attempt more shots and score more points. The team managed 72 attempts compared to FEU’s 64.

Ateneo still manages to contain opponents when they turnover the ball, as they showed against the Lady Tamaraws. Resilient defending from the Blue and White forced the Yellow and Green to rely mostly on half-court sets. As a result, the Tamaraws only converted six points on fastbreak and the Lady Eagles only gave up eight points off turnovers.

Ateneo maintained their cautiousness on the ball against their Katipunan-rivals, UP. They committed 16 turnovers while forcing 26 from the Lady Maroons. Consequently, they found their offensive groove, tormenting their opponents all throughout the game.

Unlike the first-round encounter between UP and Ateneo where the Lady Maroons were able to convert 15 points off Ateneo’s turnovers and six points on transition, the Maroons only scored two markers off turnovers and none on fastbreak. By taking care of the ball while in possession, the Lady Eagles also prevented UP’s prolific scoring.

Surprisingly, the Lady Eagles struggled to keep their turnovers to a minimum against UE. They committed a decent eight turnovers in the first half but came out especially sloppy after the break, giving the ball away 15 more times. This gave a lifeline to the Lady Warriors despite Ateneo putting up good numbers on the offensive end.

Making up for their sloppiness in possession, Ateneo showed yet again why their offense is a threat to every team in the league. They finished the game with a 23/54 (42%) shooting clip from the floor. Out of the 54 shot attempts of the the Lady Eagles, they got away with 14 uncontested field goals and converted nine of them.

If Ateneo can keep their turnovers to a minimum, their attack will stand to benefit. When the Lady Eagles keep their turnovers to a minimum, their offense has operated more fluidly. They will also have more time on the ball to forge their attacks and have more chances to shoot.

Defense clearly isn’t one of their main problems, as the Lady Eagles have managed to contain their opposition quite well, evidenced by Ateneo managing to put a hand up to 76/79 of UE’s field goal attempts. With less turnovers, the Lady Eagles avoid having to defend in transition–something that has proven to be a big weakness of theirs.

2. Finding the open teammate and knocking down baskets

Photo by Kelly Veneracion

Melissa Newsome sets a ball-screen for Alyssa Villamor. Villamor drives to the hoop to attract defenders and she kicks the ball out to Newsome for the triple.

One of the things that the Lady Eagles have been excelling at this season is reading their opponents’ defense. Against the Lady Tamaraws, it was no different for Ateneo. Their conversion rate improved a lot because they were able to break down their opponent’s defense and take open shots.

In addition, the Blue and White’s sharpshooting from downtown has been one of their main weapons this entire campaign. Ateneo managed to sink nine triples against FEU, seven more than the Tamaraws made.

Because the team builds on the attacking momentum generated from three-point baskets, they will continue to rely on creating space for uncontested threes as they enter the business end of the season.

Another tool on offense for the Katipunan-based side is their mid-range jump shots. The Blue and White managed to get 35 of their 71 points versus the Lady Tamaraws from the perimeter. Their guards, wings, and centers all have the range to drain perimeter jumpers, and this is one of the reasons why pick-and-pop plays have been so successful for them.

Although the Lady Eagles did not shoot remarkably well against the the Lady Maroons, the players still stuck with the system. Of the 19 field goal conversions out of 63 attempts by Ateneo, 16 of them were off assists.

This speaks volumes of the kind of basketball that is being played by the Blue and White: they do not settle for one-on-one isolation plays but continue to run their plays and pass the ball around until they can open up space for a good look.

Against the UE Lady Warriors, the Katipunan-based side got into a great rhythm early on with Jollina Go hitting three baskets from downtown in the opening quarter. The team ended the game with 9/26 (34%) three-point attempts. The sharpshooting tandem of Go and Villamor torched the Lady Warriors from distance, combining for 7 three-point shots to cement their double-digit lead.

The Lady Eagles have shown discipline in sticking to the offensive plays they are expected to run. They have shot the ball much better all over the floor since the start of the second round and are more efficient on offense in almost every aspect. While there are questions of Ateneo’s ability to close out games down the stretch, a drastically-improved offense will surely excite both Ateneo and opposition fans alike.