Ateneo clawed by Tigresses

For a good seven and a half minutes in the third quarter, the Ateneo de Manila Lady Eagles held a ravenous University of Sto Tomas Tigresses scoreless. Samantha Ong picked up the ball and passed it to Allysa Dogong who was way ahead of the pack. Dogong drove all the way to the basket, made the lay-up and picked up a foul to boot. Ateneo would go on a 15-0 run after that play. Unfortunately, the Lady Eagles were catching up to a 26-point UST lead, 53-30.

Despite trimming the lead down to a manageable five points in the final quarter, the Lady Eagles were clawed by the Tigresses, 60-67, in their second meeting in UAAP Season 73, Tuesday at the FilSports Arena.

In a rather scrappy first quarter, the Lady Eagles were poised to avenge last round’s game against UST. A three from Dogong tied the game at 15 to end the first 10 minutes of play.

The second quarter spelled disaster for Ateneo. Costly turnovers limited the Lady Eagles to play on the defensive end. UST took advantage of the situation and created more than enough opportunities to score from the field and from the line. UST pulled up a three to cap the half with a 26-47 scoreboard.

With no easy baskets going the way of the Katipunan-based squad, the Lady Eagles knew that they had to take it strong to the paint. Denise Tiu did just that as she put up back to back baskets to open the third quarter. Despite all the dribbling and traveling infractions called on the Lady Eagles, they stayed pesky on defense to cut a 26-point UST lead (53-30) down to only nine (45-56).

Trifectas care of Ong and team captain Mariana Lopa gave Ateneo momentum to keep the game close. The third quarter ended 45-58 with Ateneo hoping for an upset.

In a highly physical fourth quarter, Ateneo got better looks at the basket and limited UST to only nine points. Sarah Mercado intercepted several UST possessions, but her steals weren’t easily converted into points for Ateneo. With both teams in penalty in the dying seconds of the game, UST hung on to win the game 60-67.

The Lady Eagles hope to finish better against FEU on Saturday, Aug 28, 5:45PM at the FilOil Arena, San Juan.