Ateneo’s Kacey Dela Rosa.–UAAP PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines — Ateneo withstood a late-game surge by La Salle to win, 65-62, in the UAAP Season 87 women’s basketball tournament on Sunday at Adamson Gym.
The Blue Eagles banked on the clutch free throws from Junize Calago and Kai Oani to deny the late comeback of the Lady Archers led by Luisa San Juan, who fired four triples to fight back from a 51-38 deficit to start the fourth and turn it into a three-point game, 62-59, with four minutes left.
Calago’s split her free throws to stop the bleeding but Bea Dalisay drilled a trey to trim it down to just one, 63-62, with 31.5 seconds remaining. La Salle, however, couldn’t get the upper hand as Oani sank a pair of free throws to seal the win with 2.8 ticks to go.
SCHEDULE: UAAP Seaosn 87 basketball
Reigning MVP Kacey Dela Rosa tallied another double-double of 24 points, 16 rebounds, and four blocks to improve to a 2-1 record bouncing back from a tough loss to defending champion University of Santo Tomas last Wednesday.
“I think we started slow sa game and ended slower. We adjusted late at sa aming coaches na ‘yun. San Juan got into a flow,” said Ateneo assistant coach Bacon Austria, as head coach LA Mumar was unavailable for the post-game scrum.
“It’s 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.”
Calago and Oani had 13 and 10 points, respectively, while Sarah Makanjuola tallied eight points and 12 rebounds to keep La Salle winless in three games.
Despite getting crucial stops, La Salle couldn’t capitalize on a go-ahead attempt, sending Oani to the free-throw line with just 2.8 seconds remaining.
San Juan finished with a career-high 24 points while graduating forward Bernice Paraiso added 13 points and seven rebounds for La Salle.
READ: UAAP: UST fends off Kacey Dela Rosa, Ateneo in women’s basketball
UST’s Kent Pastrana.–UAAP PHOTO
Meanwhile, UST leaned on the heroics of Kent Pastrana to send erstwhile-unbeaten Adamson crashing back to earth with a 58-55 win.
Tied at 55-all with 1:30 left, Pastrana made a steal and scored a go-ahead layup before Brigette Santos extended the lead to three after splitting her free throw attempts with 9.8 seconds left. Cheska Apag missed the potential game-tying three for Adamson.
Pastrana, who hit just 5-of-19 from the field, finished with 15 points, 11 rebounds, and two blocks to keep the Growling Tigresses unbeaten in three games.
“Sabi ko na lang, one good stop and one good offense. Kahit pangit na yung first 39 minutes natin, ayusin na lang natin yung last minute,” said UST coach Haydee Ong. “Bad game talaga but still, a win is a win. Pag-uusapan pa namin at titignan sa viewing kung bakit slow start, bad defense, at bad offense.”
“Credit din to Adamson because they outhustled us today. Yun yung major reason why they got close,” Ong added.
Rachelle Ambos was instrumental in UST’s second-half comeback, contributing 10 points and six rebounds, while Agatha Bron added eight points, three rebounds, and anchored the Tigresses’ defense in the final minutes.
Cris Padilla led Adamson with 19 points, four rebounds, three assists, and two steals, while Elaine Etang chipped in 11 points.