Lady Archers begin title defense with hard-fought win over UST

By Anton Roxas Posted Jul 14th 2014

Defending champion De La Salle University relied on precise ball movement in crunch time to hold off a valiant effort by the University of Sto. Tomas, winning 56-50 on opening day in the UAAP Season 77 Women’s basketball tournament last Sunday, July 13, 2014 at the Blue Eagle Gym inside the Ateneo de Manila University campus in Quezon City.

With less than six minutes in the fourth period, the Lady Archers led by a slim five point margin. But, all that changed after La Salle’s trio of guards, Camille Claro, Miller Ong and Trisha Piatos, confused the Tigresses defense with their passing above the three-point arc which led to a left corner triple by last year’s Finals MVP.

On the ensuing play, Piatos scored again by coming up with a steal that led to an easy fastbreak layup to put her team up, 48-38.

That double-digit advantage gave the Lady Archers enough distance as the Tigresses fell short on their comeback.

La Salle Head Coach Tyrone Bautista was relieved to have been able to start their season with a victory.

“The first win is one of the most difficult games to get. But, I think the mindset of the players is not to think about defending the title but taking it one game at a time. I’m happy with the way they performed today. Having that championship experience was helpful to us, especially in the fourth quarter.”

Piatos led all scorers with 23 points including 5 three-pointers.

“She’s (Piatos) stepping up big time because of the loss of some of our players. But, I told everybody that we all have to step up,” said Bautista.

One key player missing from last year’s championship squad is Ara Abaca. The two-time Mythical Five member is unable to suit up for La Salle due to academic deficiencies. Abaca averaged 13.9 points, 9.9 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game last season.

In the other games, Far Eastern University ran over the University of the East, 52-37 while last year’s finalist, National University beat Adamson University, 62-46 behind the 18 points of Afril Bernardino. The Lady Eagles of Ateneo also picked up a win by stopping the University of the Philippines, 54-42.

Box scores:

First game:

FEU 52 – Siat 15, Tanaman 8, Castro 8, Arellano 7, Valenzona 6, Chua 6, Gabriel 2, Lozano 0, Ventura 0, Hortaleza 0, Baldonado 0.
UE 37 – Chan 12, Ano-os 12, Tacula 6, Sto. Domingo 5, Bale 2, Francisco 0, Degan 0, Llosala 0, Sampaga 0, Mendina 0, Gayacao 0.

Quarter scoring: 8-6, 18-15, 38-25, 52-37.

Second game:

NU 62 – Bernardino 18, Paig 9, Tongco 9, Nabalan 6, Miranda 6, Antiquiera 5, Sison 2, Escoto 2, Seno 2, Layug 2, Gupilan 1, Castro 0, Maghibon 0, Abriam 0, Villegas 0.
AdU 46 – Balasta 14, Avila 10, Mateo 9, De Castro 8, Ong 3, Amper 2, Ido 0, Sulit 0, Alcoy 0, Ballaso 0, Durens 0.

Quarter scoring: 16-11, 35-28, 52-36, 62-46.

Third game:

ADMU 54 – Jose 18, Go 7, Tomita 6, Aseron 6, Belarmino 4, Yam 4, Posadas 4, Bo-ot 3, Buendia 2, Javier 0, Cancio 0, Nitorreda 0.
UP 42 – Daez 10, Isip 6, Wong 6, Aliermo 6, Lapid 5, Pesquera 5, Esplana 4, Medina 0, Bautista 0, Rodas 0.

Quarter scoring: 11-6, 23-16, 39-34, 54-42.

Fourth game:

DLSU 56 – Piatos 23, Garcia 9, Vergara 8, Claro 6, Mellendres 4, Corcuera 2, Roxas 2, Ong A. 2, Castillo 0, Ong M. 0.
UST 50 – Reyes 14, Rivera 11, Felisarte 10, Cortes 8, Magdaluyo 4, Siapoc 3, Angeles 0, Peňaflor 0, Mandilag 0, Isanan 0, Brillantes 0.

Quarter scoring: 14-12, 23-24, 41-33, 56-50.