THE ATENEO Blue Eagles successfully cemented a Final Four berth as they laid down the law on the Far Eastern University (FEU) Lady Tamaraws in commanding fashion, 85-70. The game took place earlier today at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City.
This win places the postseason-bound Blue Eagles at a 7-5 win-loss record with two games left to play in the eliminations.
Kacey Dela Rosa and Sarah Makanjuola emerged as the leading scorers of the game, scoring 24 points and 21 points, respectively. Kai Oani also pitched in 14 points for the Blue and White.
Dela Rosa opened the Saturday morning matchup’s scoring with a second-chance bucket off an Oani miss. Ateneo continued to do work from inside the arc, with a Makanjuola bucket giving Ateneo an 8-4 advantage. Withstanding the Blue Eagle pressure, Cassandra Salvani and Yvette Villanueva stepped up for FEU, registering the first deadlock of the game at 8-all.
Determined to reclaim the upper hand, Makanjuola successfully converted a three-point play to give Ateneo an 11-8 lead. Despite Salvani’s persistent efforts to help the Lady Tamaraws catch up, the Blue and White prevailed in the opening frame thanks to Oani and Nic Aguirre’s inside game, 17-14.
At the onset of the second canto, Dela Rosa kept Ateneo ahead with her consecutive conversions, 21-14. Building off her offensive groove, the 6’0” superstar took advantage of trips to the charity stripe to pad the lead to double-digits, 28-18.
Regardless of Salvani’s tenacious defensive efforts for the Lady Tamaraws, the Blue Eagles managed to maintain a firm hold of the driver’s seat. The ladies in blue maintained their flow on offense, making way for Oani to unleash explosive three-pointers to establish a 12-point edge for Ateneo at halftime, 37-27.
The Blue Eagles opened the second half feasting from the free throw with five makes out of six tries in that stretch, riding a quick 9-2 run for a 46-29 lead. However, just when Ateneo thought they buried their adversaries in a deep enough hole, Mary Manguiat and Erica Lopez converted back-to-back threes to draw the Lady Tamaraws to within 11, 46-35.
While Ateneo exploited FEU’s early penalty situation, Oani added insult to injury by draining another three-pointer that piloted another 7-0 run to bring the Blue Eagles’ cushion back to 17, 59-42. From there, both teams traded blows from the paint and charity stripe, with the Katipunan-based squad having the last laugh in the canto as their production kept the Morayta-based squad at bay, 62-46.
Keen on hammering the nail in the coffin, the twin towers from Katipunan continued to bombard FEU’s weak interior defense with their rebounding prowess that drove a 12-2 Ateneo run in the final frame, 78-53.
Despite allowing the Salvani-led Lady Tamaraws to orchestrate a 14-2 run, time was on the Blue Eagles’ side as they sealed the game and their postseason ticket with an 85-70 win.
The Ateneo Blue Eagles’ next matchup will be against the University of the East Lady Warriors next Saturday, November 16, at 8:00 AM at the FilOil EcoOil Centre in San Juan City.
Box scores:
Ateneo (85): Dela Rosa – 24, Makanjuola – 21, Oani – 14, Calago – 8, Eufemiano – 7, Angala – 6, Aguirre – 2, Canci0 – 2, Batongbakal – 1, Villacruz – 0, Cruza – 0, Olivenza – 0, Lopez – 0
FEU (70): Salvani – 29, Lopez – 10, Manguiat – 9, Villanueva – 7, Pasilang – 6, Gavaran – 3, Nagma – 2, Paras – 2, Ong – 2, Dela Torre – 0
Quarter scores:
Ateneo-FEU: 17-14, 37-27, 62-46, 85-70
Current Standings (W-L):
- NU Lady Bulldogs (11-0)
- UST Growling Tigresses (9-2)
- AdU Lady Falcons (8-3)
- ATENEO Blue Eagles (7-5)
- UP Fighting Maroons (3-8)
- DLSU Lady Archers (3-8)
- FEU Lady Tamaraws (3-9)
- UE Lady Warriors (1-10)
