Lady Archers net consecutive wins

c/o UAAP

UAAP Season 87 Collegiate Women’s Basketball Tournament Standings

*NU             12    0

*UST             10    2

*AdU             8    4

*Ateneo        7    5

DLSU          4    8

UP               3    9

FEU             3    9

UE               1    11

*Final Four

Games on Wednesday at the UST Quadricentennial Pavilion

8 a.m. -  UST vs NUNS (JHS)

10 a.m. - DLSZ vs UP (JHS)

12 p.m. - DLSU vs NU (Women) 

2 p.m. -  DLSU vs NU (Men)

6:30 p.m. - UE vs Ateneo (Men)

De La Salle University added to the woes of a struggling University of the Philippines side, walking away with a 69-62 victory to tally its second consecutive win in the UAAP Season 87 Collegiate Women’s Basketball Tournament on Sunday at the SMART Araneta Coliseum. 

The Lady Archers' aspirations to end the year on a positive note is off to a good start by hiking their record to a 4-8 card with two games left. The victory also broke the two-way tie for fifth place in the standings between La Salle and UP. 

“We are a bunch of competitors. As LaSallians, we are competitors in anything that we do, we want to give our best anytime we step on the floor and with whatever we’re doing both inside the court and outside the court,” La Salle head coach Cholo Villanueva. 

Luisa San Juan, Kyla Sunga, Lee Sario, and Patricia Mendoza joined hands for a late 16-4 surge, giving the Lady Archers a comfortable 36-25 edge to close the first half. 

UP tried to show signs of life by cutting its deficit to nine, 45-36, but back-to-back triples by Luisa Dela Paz and Sario propelled La Salle back to a 15-point cushion, 53-38, heading into the payoff period. 

A late triple by Mendoza and an inside hit from Sunga gave the Lady Archers a 62-48 cushion in the fourth period, sealing their fifth win in 12 outings and successfully exacting their 62-66 come-from-behind loss against the Fighting Maroons in the first round last October 6. 

“Even though we’re out of contention, we still have our little goals we want to achieve, and also as a team, we want to be competitive. We want to come out there represent the Green and White well and show pride and heart on the floor,” Villanueva added. 

San Juan powered La Salle with 18 points, four assists, one rebound, and one block, while Sario contributed 15 points, six rebounds, and two assists.

Sunga tallied 14 points, seven rebounds, one assist, and one steal, while Mendoza nearly achieved a double-double with 11 points and nine rebounds to go along with four assists, four blocks, and three steals. 

Looking ahead, La Salle looks to grab its third consecutive win in a clash against the undefeated National University on Wednesday, November 13, at the UST Quadricentennial Pavilion.

Meanwhile, the Fighting Maroons remained winless in the second round with a 3-9 slate for joint sixth place alongside the FEU Lady Tamaraws by absorbing their fifth consecutive defeat dating back to a 57-84 loss to the UST Growling Tigresses last October 12. 

Achrissa Maw paced UP in the losing effort with 25 points, seven rebounds, two assists, and two steals, while Kaye Pesquera chipped in 14 points, four rebounds, three assists, and one steal.

Louna Ozar was limited to seven points on 3-of-13 shooting but contributed seven rebounds, five assists, and three steals, while Camille Nolasco chipped in five points, four rebounds, and three assists.

UP, on the other hand, aims to break out of a five-game slump when it clashes against Far Eastern University on Saturday, November 16, at the FilOil EcoOil Centre in San Juan. 

Third Game:

DLSU (69) - San Juan 18, Sario 15, Sunga 14, Mendoza 11, Bacierto 4, Dela Paz 3, Binaohan 2, Paraiso 2, Dalisay 0, Santos 0, Camba 0.

UP (62) - Maw 25, Pesquera 14, Ozar 7, Nolasco 5, Mendoza 4, Bariquit 4, Solitario 3, Lozada 0, Tapawan 0, Vingno 0, Sauz 0, Quinquinio 0, Barba 0.

Quarterscores: 17-16, 36-25, 49-38, 69-62.