THE ATENEO Blue Eagles saw mixed results in the first day of pool play in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 84 3×3 Women’s Basketball Tournament with a 2-2 record, good for third place. The games were held at Millennial Resorts in Calatagan, Batangas on June 2.
Spearheading the Blue Eagles in scoring were Jemina Miranda with 19 points throughout the four games and Jhazmin Joson who contributed 18 points of her own.
The Blue and White started off the day with a 17-14 win over the Far Eastern University (FEU) Lady Tamaraws. Leading as much as five at one point, the Blue Eagles played a well-balanced game–scoring eight points inside the paint and on the perimeter at 61.5 (8/13 FGM/A) and 23.8 (FGM/A) percent, respectively. Joson finished this game with six points, six rebounds, two assists, two blocks and one steal. Meanwhile, FEU’s Camille Taguiam led her team with eight points and six rebounds.
Game number two for the Blue Eagles saw them lose a close contest against the University of the Philippines (UP) Fighting Maroons, 11-13. The biggest difference in the game was the rebounding, which led to second servings for the Diliman outfit. Having been out-rebounded by their opponents, 16-21, the Blue and White gave up five second chance points–while only scoring one point on their end. Joson led the Blue Eagles once again with five points and six rebounds, while UP’s Marian Domingo led her team to victory with four points and seven rebounds.
During the afternoon, the Blue Eagles experienced something of a skid as they suffered an 11-16 defeat versus the Adamson (AdU) Lady Falcons. The Blue and White caught the Lady Falcons at their best shooting performance so far in the tournament–shooting 83.3 percent inside the paint (5/6 FGM/A) and 33.3 percent (5/15 FGM/A) on the perimeter. Leading all scorers in that game was AdU’s Dindy Medina with nine markers. Ateneo’s Miranda came in second, scoring five points of her own.
Despite coming into the last game of the day on a two-game losing streak, the Ateneo Blue Eagles showed resilience as they defeated the De La Salle University Lady Archers, 13-10. The Blue and White dominated the paint en route to the victory as they outscored the Lady Archers inside the paint, 9-1. Aside from that, the Katipunan-based squad outrebounded the Taft outfit, 23-20. Miranda imposed herself throughout the game as she finished with six points and a monstrous 13 rebounds.
In light of the 2-2 start, Ateneo Blue Eagles assistant coach Bacon Austria gave some points of emphasis throughout the first four games. “Positively, we always brought the fight and kept playing until the end no matter how big or small our lead or deficit was. However, at the same time, we have to learn more on how to play 3×3 on the fly. This is a totally different game and everyone is adjusting,” said Austria.
The Blue and White will seek to finish strong and secure a place in the play-off round as they go up against the Women’s 3×3 defending champions National University Lady Bulldogs (4-0) at 11:00 AM followed by the University of Santo Tomas Growling Tigresses (2-2) at 1:00 PM on June 3. The semi-finals and finals of the event will also be played on June 3, at 2 PM and 4:15 PM, respectively. Fans can watch the games live on One Sports, the UAAP Varsity channel, Cignal Play and Smart Giga Play.
