THE ATENEO Lady Eagles fell to the National University (NU) Lady Bulldogs, 51-78, in their fifth game of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 82 Women’s Basketball Tournament on September 22 at the Ynares Center in Antipolo City.
This defeat places the Lady Eagles on a three-game slide with a record of 2-3 in the elimination rounds. Meanwhile, the undefeated Lady Bulldogs boosted their record to 6-0 and extended their incredible winning streak to a whopping 86 games.
Kat Guytingco led the Blue and White with 17 points on 50% shooting and hauled down six rebounds. Zoe Chu and Hazelle Yam followed Guytingco’s offensive production with nine points each. Rhena Itesi led the way for NU with a monster performance of 25 points and 21 rebounds.
Ateneo got off to an impressive start on both ends fueled by the hot shooting of Chu and Guytingco from the three-point line. Their full-court press worked wonders in disrupting NU’s rhythm, forcing 15 turnovers from their opponents by halftime. However, the second half was an entirely different story. NU deployed their towering front line of Kelli Hayes, Jack Aninam, and Rhena Itesi and romped their way to a 39-10 third quarter. Foul trouble and poor rebounding kept the Lady Eagles from mounting a comeback in the final period.
After the loss, Head Coach Kat Quimpo pointed to Ateneo’s difficulty in adjusting to NU’s best line-up. “They didn’t put in their original first five in the beginning, but when they started the second half they put them back,” she stated.
The Blue and White squad look to get back to winning ways against Adamson University at 10:00 AM on Wednesday, September 25, at the University of Santo Tomas Quadricentennial Pavilion in España, Manila.
Quarter Scores:
Ateneo-NU: 19-16, 29-33, 39-59, 51-78
Box Score:
Ateneo (51): Guytingco – 17, Chu – 9, Yam – 9, Villamor – 6, Joson – 4, Cancio – 2, Moslares – 2, Payac – 2, De Dios – 0, Newsome – 0, Nimes – 0, Villacruz – 0
NU (78): Itesi – 25, Hayes – 11, Surada – 11, Cacho – 8, Animam – 7, Bartolo – 4, Clarin – 4, Harada – 4, Canuto – 2, Fabruada – 2, Del Carmen – 0, Goto – 0
