HAZELLE YAM scored a go-ahead lay-up off a pass by Jolina Go with 19.8 seconds remaining, as the Ateneo Lady Eagles nipped past the Adamson Lady Falcons, 59-57, in the Philippine Chinese Amateur Basketball League (PCABL) at the Buddhacare Academy Gym in Quezon City.
Go carried the Lady Eagles for most of the game, as she poured in 16 points, grabbed 9 rebounds, and dished out 3 assists. Alyssa Villamor chipped in 12 points off the bench on an efficient four of five shooting, providing a crucial spark for the Lady Eagles after starting small forward Katrina Guytingco went down with a right leg injury in the 2nd quarter.
Adamson was led by Nathalia Prado and Grace Alcoy, as the former recorded a 19-point and 10-rebound double-double, and the latter added 16 threes. Kris Camacho also helped the Lady Falcons with a solid line of 10 points and 7 rebounds.
The Katipunan-based squad used a strong rebounding effort to make up for the 32 turnovers that plagued them throughout the game. Cara Buendia, Melissa Newsome and Tina Deacon combined for 31 rebounds to pace the 59-44 rebounding advantage of Ateneo.
Jolina Go would bring her strong performance from the get-go, scoring 8 in the first frame, including 2 triples and giving Ateneo a 5-point advantage after one quarter.
Early in the second, the Lady Eagles would push their lead even further as triples from Guytingco and Villamor extended the lead to double figures at 26-16. However, Adamson clawed their way back in the latter half of the frame, using their press to force 20 first half turnovers from Ateneo. Alcoy then took control late, notching a 6-0 run of her own to bring Adamson within three entering the half.
In the third quarter, Go dropped another eight points with help from Uy De Ong, who added seven in the quarter as well. Despite the strong production from the Ateneo duo, Adamson would remain within arm’s reach due to the heroics of Prado, who tallied 15 of her 19 points in the second half.
In the final frame, Ateneo looked determined to protect the lead, with Villamor and Buendia knocking in big baskets to keep the advantage on the Blue and White side. Still, the Lady Falcons finally found themselves ahead with 2:51 remaining after a crucial Alcoy basket. From there, the two teams would wrestle with the lead, until Prado hit a giant midrange jumper from the top of the key to give Adamson a 57-56 advantage with under a minute remaining.
In a frantic sequence, Ateneo escaped with the ball off an Adamson miss, resulting in a huge transition connection between Go and Yam that ultimately proved to be a winning formula. Adamson scraped three chances to score with the final 19.8 seconds, but failed to find the net before Buendia safely secured the defensive board that put the ball in the hands of Lady Eagles as the final buzzer sounded.
With the win, the Ateneo Lady Eagles restore an even slate at (1-1) after losing their opening match to the National University (NU) Lady Bulldogs last week. Their next match will be against archrivals De La Salle Green Archers on Saturday, July 8 at 9AM at the Buddhacare Academy Gym.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Photo courtesy of Leo Lopez
