THE ATENEO Women’s Basketball Team secured their elimination round sweep of the Far Eastern University (FEU) Lady Tamaraws, 82-70, in their second University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 88 encounter. The game occurred earlier today, October 29, at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in the City of Pasay.
This victory propels the Blue Eagles to a 6-3 win-loss record, keeping them close to the second-seeded National University (NU) Lady Bulldogs.
Blue Eagle Kacey Dela Rosa led the game, scoring 21 points, along with 23 boards. Alongside Dela Rosa, Player of the Game Camille Malagar was the second leading scorer for the Blue and White, tallying 13 points, to go along with five assists, four rebounds, and three steals.
Moreover, Sarah Makanjuola made her return to the starting lineup after serving a suspension during Ateneo’s loss to the NU Lady Bulldogs last Sunday.
Following the jumpball, Dela Rosa and Malagar made their presence known early by opening the scoring for the Blue Eagles, 4-2. Continuing her opening outburst, Malagar scored five quick points from a three and a layup, 9-2. Looking to build upon Malagar’s onslaught, Kai Oani converted two corner threes, 17-5. Backing Oani’s triples, Kate Cancio scored a transition layup to extend the Blue and White’s lead to 14, 19-5.
Despite building a domineering 14-point advantage, the Blue Eagles’ edge was quickly trimmed as FEU’s MJ Manguiat converted multiple looks, including an and-one jumper, 24-12. Looking to quell the Lady Tamaraws’ surge, Dela Rosa converted a layup near the rim, 26-12. With time ticking down, rookie Erica De Luna slotted in a floater along with a top-of-the-key three to end the first quarter, 31-13.
Opening the second quarter on a heater, Dela Rosa cleaned up a teammate’s miss for a smooth putback to increase the Blue and White’s lead to 20, 33-13. Following Dela Rosa’s layup, the Katipunan-based team entered a two-minute scoring drought. However, this cold spell was broken when rookie Hannah Lopez converted a corner three, 36-16.
Continuing their team’s stellar performance, Dela Rosa and Gracie Batongbakal converted two baskets near the hoop to extend their edge to 22, 40-18. Following Dela Rosa and Batongbakal’s outburst, Camille Malagar converted from three-point territory, 43-21. Before entering the halftime break, Dela Rosa powered her way through the Lady Tamaraws’ defense, converting an and-one layup, 46-23.
At the onset of the third canto, the Blue and White displayed their dominance on the inside, as Makanjoula put back a missed charity opportunity from Dela Rosa, 49-23. Despite Dela Rosa instilling her presence in the paint with back-to-back baskets, Ateneo’s defense reacted slowly to the Lady Tamaraws’ offense, which cut their advantage, 53-37. Looking to settle things down, Malagar knocked down another runaway three in the corner, 56-37.
Halfway through the quarter, the Blue Eagles reestablished their standing as Cancio easily barreled her way to the rim for the floater, 58-37. On the other end, Ateneo made defense turn to offense, with De Luna converting her steal into an open layup, 60-37. After exchanging fast-paced baskets in the form of triples and inside the arc makes, De Luna found the rim-running Makanjuola to end the quarter with the Blue Eagles on top, 67-48.
To begin the last frame, Makanjuola and Dela Rosa got straight to work by pounding their way inside for easy baskets, 71-48. After a set of free throws, De Luna found Makanjuola roaming the paint, extending the Blue Eagles’ lead, 75-50. Besides Batongbakal’s hard drive to the rim, the Blue Eagles struggled to find their rhythm, as they fell victim to a 17-2 Lady Tamaraws sprint that had their lead cut to as little as 10, 77-67.
In the dying moments of the game, Dela Rosa closed the door on FEU’s comeback attempt, instilling her presence inside the arc for an and-one basket, 81-70. The reigning UAAP Most Valuable Player calmly knocked down the free throw, ending the game with an Ateneo victory, 82-70.
The Blue Eagles aim to build on their momentum as they face the University of the East Lady Warriors next week on November 5, Wednesday, at 12:00 PM in the same venue.
Box Scores:
Ateneo (82): Dela Rosa – 21, Malagar – 13, Oani – 11, De Luna – 10, Cancio – 10, Makanjoula – 10, Batongbakal – 4, Lopez – 3
FEU (70): Abatayo – 17, Espanol – 17, Manguiat – 13, Pasilang – 7, Nagma – 6, Villanueva – 5, Salvani – 3, Dela Torre – 2
Quarter scores:
Ateneo-FEU: 31-13, 46-23, 67-48, 82-70
Current Standings (W-L)
- UST Growling Tigresses (8-0)
- NU Lady Bulldogs (8-1)
- ATENEO Blue Eagles (6-3)
- FEU Lady Tamaraws (4-5)
- DLSU Lady Archers (3-5)
- AdU Lady Falcons (3-5)
- UP Fighting Maroons (2-7)
- UE Lady Warriors (0-8)
