SWEET SHOOTING from behind the arc after halftime hurt the Ateneo Lady Eagles as they tasted defeat against the University of Santo Tomas (UST) Growling Tigresses, 60-71, on Tuesday, July 9, in the 2019 Women’s Basketball Invitational at the Blue Eagle Gym, Quezon City.
Returning guard Hazelle Yam produced a fine performance for the Lady Eagles with nine points, three rebounds, six assists, and four steals. Katrina Guytingco trailed closely, finishing with eight points, three rebounds, and three steals. Alyssa Villamor and Zoe Chu each chipped in seven markers, with the latter adding seven boards to her tally.
Reigning Season 81 Rookie of the Year Reynalyn Ferrer, together with forward Angelee Callangan, carried the scoring load for the España-based side with each recording 13 points. Ferrer also racked up 12 rebounds and four steals while Callangan grabbed nine boards. Elondra Rivera tallied 10 markers while reigning Season 81 Most Valuable Player Grace Irebu scored eight points and had seven rebounds.
The Blue and White started off shooting the lights out from distance with Pam Payac, Boom Moslares, Melissa Newsome, and Yam each recording a triple in the opening quarter.
The Growling Tigresses, on the other hand, had a different gameplan in mind. They leveraged their size by running multiple ball screens to give their cutting bigs space inside, while also aggressively crashing the offensive glass. Ateneo held a four-point lead at the sound of the first-quarter buzzer, 27-23.
The Katipunan-based side began the second quarter with another three-point basket. With the shot clock winding down, Payac and Jhazmin Joson ran a well-executed baseline give-and-go that gave the team a seven-point lead, 30-23.
However, UST fought their way back by sticking to the pick-and-roll offense that eventually helped them inch their way closer to tying the game, 32-30.
It was a scrappy game from then on, with both squads struggling to get a firm grip on the match heading into halftime. A Joson make from deep ensured that the Lady Eagles still had the advantage by the end of the first half, 40-39.
Yam opened the third period with a basket off a dribble-handoff, catching her defender napping for an open layup. However, the full court trap defense of the Tigresses froze up the Lady Eagles’ offense. They forced several turnovers from the Ateneo ball handlers during the quarter, giving UST a 46-56 lead as the game reached the final frame.
Contrary to the first half of 8/17 shooting from behind the three-point line, the Lady Eagles failed to sink any of their 12 attempts from distance at the fourth period. They instead elected to attack the basket more. At the start of the fourth, Yam put up a floater after a smooth crossover that narrowly missed. However, the ensuing offensive rebound fell kindly to her for the easy two.
Ateneo made adjustments in the fourth quarter as they tried to come back from a deficit. The team went small, trotting out a lineup composed of only guards and wings, to break the press and run quickly in transition. However, they failed to secure the defensive boards as the Growling Tigresses went on to win, 60-71.
The Ateneo Lady Eagles fall to a 0-1 record, while UST opens the invitational tournament with a 1-0 slate. Ateneo will return to action tomorrow, July 9, Wednesday, at 8:00 AM against the Far Eastern University Lady Tamaraws at the Blue Eagle Gym, Quezon City.
Quarter scores
Ateneo-UST: 27-23, 40-39, 46-56, 60-71
Box score
Ateneo (60): Yam 9, Guytingco 8, Chu 7, Villamor 7, Payac 6, Nimes 6, Newsome 5, Cancio 4, Moslares 3, Joson 3, De Dios 2, Aquisap 0
UST (71): Callangan 13, Ferrer 13, Rivera 10, Tacatac 9, Irebu, 8, Soriano 6, Sangalang 6, Gandalla 2
