De La Salle University waited more than three weeks to get back at first round tormentor University of Santo Tomas.
Revenge came sweet for the Lady Archers as they snapped the Tigresses’ four-game roll with a hard-fought 67-60 win to start the second round of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines Season 85 women’s basketball at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on a rainy Saturday morning.
Although La Salle had some anxious moments late in the payoff period, a huge 9-2 run was all the Lady Archers needed to grab their second straight win to improve their win-loss record to 6-2 at second to third spots tied with their victim.
Meanwhile, Ateneo de Manila University stretched its winning run to four games after a 76-72 escape over Adamson University.
Jhasmin Joson iced the game for the Blue Eagles with a pair of crucial charities in the waning seconds of the game and the Lady Falcons breathing down their necks with just two points down.
Ateneo kept a tight hold of the fourth spot with a 5-3 card while handing Adamson its fourth defeat in a row to drop to a 2-6 mark.
La Salle head coach Cholo Villanueva said that his squad was raring for payback following a crushing 71-57 defeat to UST last 5 October in their first meeting.
“We need to bounce back from our first round loss,” Villanueva said.
The Lady Archers raced to 45-29 lead with 8:18 left in the third quarter courtesy of Jeehan Ahmed. The Tigresses mounted a counterattack to trim down their deficit to 58-59 with just 2:21 left in the game.
Fina Niantcho Tchuido reacted quickly to ward off UST’s late push, igniting the closing run to get La Salle out of harm’s way.
“We corrected our mistakes. We needed to really want it this time around to get that win from UST,” Villanueva said. “UST is the number two team so you need to play a near-perfect game to beat them,” he continued.
Joehanna Arciga fired 14 points to lead the Lady Archers and added six rebounds, five assists, and three steals for an all-around performance.
Lee Sario had 11 points while Niantcho Tchuido scored nine points and pulled down 16 rebounds.
Dionisio led UST with 17 points and 11 rebounds while Eka Soriano was limited to just 10 points after dropping 28 against La Salle in the first round.
Soriano added six assists, and five rebounds while Tacky Tacatac tallied seven assists and five points for the Tigresses.
The Lady Falcons pulled within two, 72-74, after Victoria Adeshina, Cris Padilla, and Rose Ann Dampios engineered a late fightback with 43.5 seconds left in the ball game.
After the Blue Eagles failed to convert on the other end, Adamson went to Adeshina anew but missed a jumper with 10 seconds to go as Joson sank two pressure-packed free throws.
“We’re very thankful we were able to survive Adamson. Again, we’re a young team, we’re still learning,” Ateneo coach LA Mumar said.
Prized rookie Kacey de la Rosa, who returned after missing two games due to illness, had a double-double of 23 points and 23 rebounds to go with two blocks.
Villacruz was clutch in the fourth with 11 of her 21 points while Junize Calago added nine points.
Adeshina had 27 points and 14 rebounds in the losing cause while Dampios got 17 points, seven steals, and five rebounds for Adamson.
The Scores:
First game
La Salle (67) — Arciga 14, Sario 11, Niantcho Tchuido 9, Torres 6, Ahmed 6, De La Paz 6, Binaohan 5, Jimenez 3, Espinas 3, Dalisay 2, Camba 2.
UST (60) — Dionisio 17, Soriano 10, Bron 7, Ambos 6, Tacatac 5, Santos 5, Villasin 5, Danganan 3, Serrano 2, Pangilinan 0, Villapando 0.
Quarters: 22-15, 40-29, 53-43, 67-60.
Second game
Ateneo (76) — Dela Rosa 23, Villacruz 21, Calago 9, Joson 8, Eufemiano 5, Miranda 4, Makanjoula 4, Nieves 2, Cruza 0.
Adamson (72) — Adeshina 27, Dampios 17, Agojo 10, Flor 6, De la Cruz 2, Etang 2, Ornopia 0, Alaba 0, Catulong 0, Carcallas 0, Tano 0.
Quarters: 17-9, 39-27, 56-49, 76-72.
