UAAP Women’s Basketball: Ateneo withstood La Salle’s late-game surge
Ateneo de Manila University narrowly escaped a late-game surge by archrival De La Salle University to triumph, 65-62, in the UAAP Season 87 women’s basketball tournament on Sunday, September 15, at Adamson Gym.
The Lady Blue Eagles built a commanding 47-29 lead early in the third quarter anchored from dominant performances of reigning Most Valuable Player (MVP) Kacey Dela Rosa, Junize Calago, rookie Kai Oani, and Nigerian center Sarah Makanjuola.
Despite ruling the period with a comfortable 51-38 cushion, a game surge in the fourth quarter helmed by Luisa San Juan ignited a comeback for the Lady Archers.
“I think we started slow in the game and ended slower. We adjusted late and that was on us coaches. San Juan got into a flow,” said Ateneo assistant coach Bacon Austria, as head coach LA Mumar was unavailable after the game.
San Juan nearly squandered Ateneo’s advantage after firing four triples to start the fourth quarter and turn it into a three-point game, 62-59, with four minutes left.
Calago split her free throws padding Ateneo’s lead but Bea Dalisay responded with a three-pointer to bring the Lady Archers within one point with 31.5 seconds remaining. La Salle, however, couldn’t complete a comeback as Oani sank a pair of free throws, sealing the victory for Ateneo.
"It is a rivalry game, so it's big for us. A win against La Salle is a win against La Salle. It's a good test for us, but there's still so much to learn," added Austria.
Dela Rosa delivered another double-double of 24 points, 16 rebounds, and four blocks to improve to a 2-1. Meanwhile, La Salle dropped to 0-3.
Calago and Oani tallied 13 and 10 markers, respectively, while Makanjuola contributed eight points and 12 boards.
San Juan, on the other hand, finished with a career-high 24 points, while graduating forward Bernice Paraiso scored 13 markers and seven rebounds in La Salle’s losing cause.
The Lady Blue Eagles’ feat arranged them a duel against Adamson Soaring Falcons on Saturday, September 21, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum, while the Lady Archers will aim to clinch their first win when they take on the University of the East Lady Warriors on Sunday, September 22, at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.
THE SCORES:
Ateneo 65 - Dela Rosa 24, Calago 13, Oani 10, Makanjuila 8, Villacruz 7, Batongbakal 3, Eufemiano 0, Nieves 0, Angala 0, Aquirre 0, Cancio 0, Cruza 0.
DLSU 62 - San Juan 24, Paraiso 13, Dalisay 6, Santos 5, Sario 5, Dela Paz 4, Sunga 4, Delos Reyes 1, Camba 0, Mendoza 0, Rodriguez 0, Baciento 0.
Quarterscores: 17-14, 37-29, 51-38, 65-62.
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Castro added three steals and two assists in his return to help TNT Tropang Giga get the 109-93 victory over the Blackwater Bossing on Thursday night, December 19, at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
The nine-time PBA champion missed TNT's first three games due to hamstring issues.
TNT's all-around import Rondae Hollis-Jefferson supported Castro with his 22 points, nine rebounds, five dimes, five deflections, and a block.
Four more Tropang Giga scored in double digits to get their second straight victory of the tourney. Rey Nambatac contributed 19, Calvin Oftana provided 18, RR Pogoy put up 12, and Glenn Khobuntin added 10.
Meanwhile, Blackwater high-scoring import George King, who averaged 39 points per game, was only limited to a conference-low 28 markers on 10-of-22.
The Bossing also don't have their prized rookie Sedrick Barefield due to injury.
With King being handcuffed and Barefield not in the lineup, RK Ilagan stepped up and poured out 19 points highlighted by 3-of-3 shooting from the arc.
The game was the last of the year for both teams.
TNT will be back in action on January 7 against Meralco Bolts, while Blackwater will come back on January 8 to face Rain or Shine Elasto Painters.
Sweet-shooting guard Jordan Heading and import Cheick Diallo poured out 21 points each to lead Converge in their victory over the Phoenix Fuel Masters, 116-105, on Thursday night, December 19, at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
The win marked the first time that the FiberXers won back-to-back games in the PBA Season 49 Commissioner's Cup and improved their record to 4-2.
Besides Heading and Diallo, four more Converge players scored in double digits. Schonny Winston and Bryan Santos contributed 16 apiece, while Alec Stockton and BJ Andrade added 14 and 11, respectively.
Their twin towers, ace center Justin Arana and top pick rookie Justine Baltazar both came out with six markers.
"We give credit to our guys," said FiberXers acting head coach Franco Atienza, who admitted that he was anxious when Phoenix made a good start that led to a 20-2 lead.
"We just stuck on, we didn't panic. We returned to how we want to run our system, how to run our offense, our defense," Atienza added.
Converge will have a chance to extend their win streak when they face Barangay Ginebra on Saturday, December 21, in Batangas City, and against Meralco Bolts on Christmas day at the Big Dome.
Meanwhile, Donovan Mitchell led Phoenix with 30 points and 18 rebounds. He was supported by RJ Jazul's 20, Tyler Tio's 13, and Ricci Rivero's 11.
The Fuel Masters now have a 1-5 win-loss record after dropping their final game of the year.
The Scores:
CONVERGE 116 - Heading 21, Diallo 21, Winston 16, Santos 16, Stockton 14, Andrade 11, Arana 6, Baltazar 6, Racal 5, Delos Santos 0, Caralipio 0.
PHOENIX 105 - Smith 30, Jazul 20, Tio 13, Perkins 12, Rivero 11, Tuffin 8, Verano 4, Garcia 3, Soyud 2, Manganti 2, Salado 0, Alejandro 0, Muyang 0, Ular 0, Daves 0.
Quarter Scores: 15-30, 48-54, 87-80, 116-105.
San Miguel failed to earn its breakthrough win in the 2024-25 East Asia Super League (EASL) after bowing to Hong Kong Eastern, 62-71, at Southorn Stadium in Hong Kong, on Wednesday, December 18.
Kobey Lam spearheaded the pivotal comeback, registering 19 points, which gave the Hong Kong squad its first victory in the EASL game.
Notwithstanding the efforts of June Mar Fajardo and recently signed import Torren Jones for San Miguel, Eastern maintained their lead.
After a difficult turn-around shot by Fajardo, the Beermen were able to cut the margin to just two points at 58-60 in the fourth quarter.
However, just when it appeared that San Miguel had the advantage, Lam blazed through when he scored five of Eastern’s 9-0 run.
Lam also posted three rebounds and one assist for the Hong Kong-based squad, with Chris McLaughlin tallying a double-double of 16 markers and 17 boards, while Glenn Yang contributed 11 for the home team.
Fajardo and Jones led the charge for the Beermen with 19 points each, but their efforts were for naught as they failed to keep the team from suffering a third straight loss and dropping to the bottom of Group A.
The loss was the first in three games for Leo Austria since taking over as coach last week in place of Jorge Gallent.
San Miguel will aim to finally grab their first win in the EASL as they face the Hiroshima Dragonflies on January 8 at the Hiroshima Sun Plaza in Japan.
The Scores:
Hong Kong 71 – Lam 19, McLaughlin 16, Yang 11, Blankley 7, Xu 5, Leung 5, Chan 4, Zhu 4, Cheung 0, Pok 0, Guinchard 0.
San Miguel 62 – Fajardo 19, Jones 19, Perez 8, Miller 5, Trollano 3, Tautuaa 3, Cahilig 3, Rosales 2, Ross 0, Lassiter 0.
Quarter Scores: 28-14, 48-34, 60-48, 71-62.