THE ATENEO Lady Eagles defeated the University of Santo Tomas (UST) Lady Growling Tigers, 64-53 on Wednesday, November 18 at the Blue Eagle Gym in Quezon City. It was a do-or-die affair, as the winner of the contest would clinch a spot in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines Final Four round.
The Blue and White started off the contest as the team that wanted it more, playing suffocating defense on the Tigresses. The game started getting out of hand when UST started having difficulty scoring on their drives. Danica Jose patrolled the paint by blocking and altering multiple shots attempts. Her defense, paired with the Ateneo’s precision passing, made it look as if the Blue and White would march right onto the Final Four, as they took a commanding 31-15 lead at the end of the half.
The Tigresses came roaring back though, flustering the Lady Eagles to start the second half. The latter’s defense didn’t look like what it was in the first half after UST’s drives resulted in countless easy baskets. Little by little, they bit at the lead until they eventually tied the score at 50-all with 4.7 seconds left in the game. With the Lady Eagles failing to take the convert at the offensive end, the game was sent to overtime.
Here came budding shooting guard Hazelle Yam. The Lady Eagle played like a woman on a mission, carrying her team on her back in the extra period. Through two clutch three-point baskets and darting drives to the hoop, she single-handedly outscored the Tigresses, 10-3, in overtime. But even through her outstanding performance, she credited her success to other factors.
“I just really believed in my teammates and yung binigay sakin na role ng coach ko (I just really believed in my teammates and the role my coach gave me),” Yam said. “Siyempre hindi ko rin magagawa ‘to kung hindi ako nagtiwala kay God (Of course, I would not have been able to do this if I didn’t believe in God).”
Hazelle Yam led the Blue and White with 26 points on an efficient 11/22 shooting from the field. Danica Jose followed Yam’s offensive output with a dominant statline of 15 points, 19 rebounds, and four blocks.
Their next game will be a one-game playoff against the University of the East Lady Warriors at 10:00 AM, Saturday, November 21 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Cubao.
Box Scores:
Ateneo 64 – Yam 26, Jose 15, Go 11, Tomita 5, Buendia 2, Guytingco 2, Deacon 2, Lamar 1, Javier 0, Aseron 0, Nitorreda 0
UST 52 – Penaflor 18, Cortes 10, Larosa 9, Magdaluyo 7, Brillante 4, Felisarta 4, Pernia 1, Jerez 0, Angeles 0, Isanan 0, Portillo 0, Capilit 0
Quarter Score: 12-5, 31-15, 40-34, 50-50, 64-53
