THE ATENEO Lady Eagles lost their fourth straight game at the hands of the Far Eastern University (FEU) Lady Tamaraws, 66-71, on Wednesday, October 16, at the University of Santo Tomas Quadricentennial Pavilion, Manila City.

Jhaz Joson led the scoring for Ateneo with 15 points on 6/12 shooting from the floor along with three assists and three steals. Mel Newsome followed closely with 13 points, draining three from deep. Hazelle Yam and Pam Payac each scored 11 and 10 points, respectively. 

For the Lady Tamaraws, Claire Castro imposed her will inside with a double-double of 23 points and 10 rebounds, six of which came from the offensive glass. Jay Delos Santos also had a strong offensive game, scoring seven of her 16 points in the first four minutes of the third quarter. Castro and Delos Reyes combined for 39 points—more than half of FEU’s total output. 

The first half was a high-scoring affair, with the Lady Eagles scoring 23 in the opening salvo and FEU responding with 20 in the second. But the Lady Tamaraws pulled away early in the third period. Delos Reyes scored five unanswered to break the halftime deadlock while Castro continued to dominate inside to send the FEU lead to double-digits. A Sel De Dios triple late in the fourth cut the FEU lead to just five, but it was too little, too late, as Ateneo failed to complete the comeback.

The Lady Eagles’ excellent offensive performance in the first half was due in large part to their hot shooting from deep. Ateneo shot 5/12 from beyond the arc in the first 20 minutes of play, but shot only 25% from three in the second half. FEU also leveraged their size effectively as seen in their +19 and +12 advantages on the offensive glass and second chance points, respectively.

Ateneo will look to halt their losing streak in their next match against the University of the East Lady Warriors on Sunday, October 20, 8:00 AM, at the Ynares Center, Antipolo City.