Lady Eagles 43, Adamson 82

The Ateneo Lady Eagles seemed ready to hand Adamson University their first upset of the season. Ateneo drew first blood to giving them a 4-0 advantage in the opening minutes of the quarter.

But Ateneo’s threat got Adamson fired up. The Lady Eagles were outclassed in every possible aspect of a game that ended 43-82 in favor of the Lady Falcons.

Ateneo had difficulty taking the ball down to their offensive side of the court no thanks to the nine steals that Adamson made. Adamson’s defense forced the Lady Eagles to take the ball strong to the basket only to be fouled and earn points from the charity stripe.

The defending champions wouldn’t give Ateneo easy access to the basket. And when the Lady Eagles would have possession, Adamson challenged every shot.

With nothing to lose, Coach Chris Quimpo fielded third stringers to challenge the Lady Falcons. Sophomores Angelina Morales, Veronica Limcaoco, Ariela Torre with rookies Bianca Belarmino and Sara Bo-ot injected new life into the game. Adamson had to call a couple of time outs to regroup despite a 40-point lead.

But their efforts came in too late to give the Lady Eagles even a shot at taking the lead. Sarah Mercado was the only Atenean who scored in double digits with 12 points (half of which were made from the free throw line) versus four Lady Falcons who combined for 61 points.

The Lady Eagles look to improve their standing as they go up against the University of Sto Tomas on Aug 1, Sunday, 9:45am at the Philsports Arena.