INQUIRER Sports

GAMES TUESDAY (Ynares Sports Center, Pasig)
2 p.m.—Harbour Centre vs Toyota Otis (men)
4 p.m.—Bacchus vs Hapee Toothpaste (men)
6 p.m.—Discovery-RP vs Oracle-FEU (women)

MANILA, Philippines—Cutting a towering figure on the hard court, Cassandra Tioseco was an unchallenged force as Nutri-C-Ateneo dominated the inaugural match of the Women’s Philippine Basketball League.

The Lady Eagles strode past the Sunkist-La Salle Lady Archers, 60-46, as Tioseco unloaded a double-double performance of 23 points and 21 rebounds on Saturday night at the Ynares Sports Center in Pasig City.

Scoring mostly on undergoal stabs and easy putbacks, the six-foot Tioseco buried eight points in the first 10 minutes to power the Lady Eagles to a 21-7 spread.

Marylyn Matreo also chipped in eight in the opening stretch to finish with 16 markers on top of eight boards.

“Right now we have dependable players inside and outside; that’s the advantage,” said Ateneo de Manila University coach Haydee Ong.

Tisoeco, the Most Valuable Player during Ateneo’s 2007 UAAP title run, also had four blocks and two assists.

“We know La Salle’s primary scorers, like (Eileen) Urieta and (Angeli) Gloriani,” said Ong. “Our game plan was to stop them from scoring. We played good defense against them.”

Aside from posting a paltry 27 percent shooting clip, the Lady Archers were also outrebounded at 47-32.

“It’s good to be back playing for Ateneo,” said Tioseco, who suited up for the Philippine team that captured the bronze medal in the 2007 Southeast Asian Games.

Oracle Residences, backstopped by the core of reigning UAAP champion Far Eastern University, will kick off its bid against guest squad Discovery-RP women’s team at 6 p.m. Tuesday.

The scores:

NUTRI-C-ATENEO 60—Tioseco 23, Matreo 16, Delos Reyes 10, Limgenco 8, Indigne 3, De Guzman 0, Lopez 0, Lopa 0, Bombeo 0, Grajales 0, Russ 0, K. Co 0, R. Co 0.

SUNKIST-LA SALLE 46—Laureola 8, Candana 7, Yamamoto 7, Alon-Alon 6, Gloriani 6, Dimaporo 4, Concepcion 3, Urieta 3, Prado 2, Cruz 0, Sancho 0, Velarde 0.

Quarters: 21-7, 37-19, 52-32, 60-46