Ateneo keeps UE winless in Season 85 Women's Basketball

c/o UAAP

Even without Kacey dela Rosa for the second straight game, Ateneo still emerged as winners on Sunday at the Ynares Center in women's basketball action.

The Blue Eagles defeated the University of the East, 73-62, to open Sunday's quadruple-header at the facility in Rizal.

Sarah Makanjuola stepped up once again in the absence of dela Rosa, netting a near-triple-double performance with seventeen points, 21 rebounds, and seven blocks. Jhazmin Joson also came close to a triple-double of her own with twenty points, ten assists, and seven rebounds, while also adding three steals and a block.

The Blue Eagles needed a strong final quarter to fend off the Lady Warriors, as an 18-5 run broke the game open from holding a 53-50 lead with 8:37 left to a 71-55 gap off a Joson assist to Sandra Villacruz with just over a couple of minutes in this one.

Villacruz would finish with thirteen points, whilst LJ Miranda added fourteen markers to help offset dela Rosa's absence offensively. Ylyssa Eufemiano contributed eleven rebounds to help Ateneo dominate the boards with a 68-49 advantage.

Head coach LA Mumar praised the opposition upon facing the media afterwards. He says, "I wanna give kudos to coach Ai (Lebornio). She really came up with a good game plan against us. I think this was (UE’s) best game in the UAAP. That team is well-coached so all kudos to them."

He adds, "Winless nga yung UE so we were in a rush. We were nanggigil. Finally, nung last five minutes, we were able to settle down and create some space."

The win allows Ateneo to be in fourth place with a 4-3 record after one round of play, while UE remains without a win after seven matches.

Joyce Terrinal led the Lady Warriors with fourteen points, followed by Pauline Anastacio and her eleven markers. Kamba Kone contributed a double-double with ten points and ten rebounds, with Jenkins Nama grabbing twelve rebounds.

The scores:

Ateneo (73) - Joson 20, Makanjuola 17, Miranda 14, Villacruz 13, Eufemiano 7, Calago 2, Nieves 0, Navarro 0, Penaranda 0, Fetalvero 0, Angala 0, Cruza 0, Perez 0.

UE (62) - Terrinal 14, Anastacio 11, Kone 10, Caraig 9, Lorena 7, Nama 5, Paule 5, Sajol 1, Zamudio 0, Silva 0, Gervacio 0.

Quarters: 20-14, 36-29, 51-45, 73-62.