THE ATENEO Lady Eagles fell to the five-time defending champions, the National University (NU) Lady Bulldogs, 59-76, in Ateneo’s penultimate game of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 82 Women’s Basketball Tournament on Sunday, October 26, at the Ynares Center in Antipolo City. 

The Lady Eagles dropped to a 4-9 win-loss card while the Lady Bulldogs picked up their 93rd consecutive victory, moving one step closer to yet another undefeated season with a 13-0 record.

Hazelle Yam turned in a noteworthy performance, finishing with a game-high 18 points while also recording four assists. Jhaz Joson and Trina Guytingco each chipped in with 14 and 13 markers, respectively.

For the Lady Bulldogs, Angel Surada led the balanced attack, notching a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Jack Animam followed closely behind, flirting with a double-double of her own with eight points and 10 boards. 

Ateneo kept the game close through most of the first half, with neither side leading by more than four points. However, the Lady Bulldogs began to pull away midway through the second quarter. NU went on a 13-0 run to lead by as much as 10 in the opening 20 minutes, before ending the half with a nine-point edge.

NU continued to press their advantage after halftime, this time going on an extended 19-5 surge between the third and fourth periods to take their biggest lead at 21 points. It was smooth sailing from that point for the Lady Bulldogs as Ateneo could not trim the deficit below 14 points and finished the game down by 17.

The Lady Eagles struggled to generate offense outside the trio of Yam, Joson, and Guytingco as the rest of the team combined for a total of 14 points. It was the exact opposite for NU, with no Lady Bulldog scoring more than 10 points. 12 of the 15 players that came in for NU scored at least two points, whereas only six out of the 12 Lady Eagles that played got into the points column.

With the elimination round coming to a close, graduating forward Mel Newsome shared her thoughts on the final game of her collegiate career to be held on Wednesday, October 30. “It’s really sentimental and it hasn’t really hit me yet that it’s coming to an end,” Newsome said. “It’s going to be a very emotional game. The team has become my second family so [it’s] always hard to go on the next stage of [my] life.”

The Lady Eagles will close out their season against the University of the Philippines Lady Maroons on Wednesday, October 30, 10:00 AM, at the University of Santo Tomas Quadricentennial Pavilion, Manila City.

Quarter Scores:

Ateneo-NU: 18-20, 30-39, 41-58, 59-76

Box Score:

Ateneo (59): Yam – 18, Joson – 14, Guytingco – 13, Villamor – 9, Newsome – 4, Aquisap – 1, Moslares – 0, Payac – 0, Villacruz – 0, Chu – 0, De Dios – 0, Nimes – 0

NU (76): Hayes – 10, Itesi – 10, Surada – 10, Animam – 8, Cacho – 7, Bartolo – 6, Del Carmen – 6, Canuto – 5, Harada – 5, Pingol – 5, Clarin – 2, Fabruada – 2, Cac – 0, Dimaunahan – 0, Goto – 0