Lady Eagles victorious against Lady Maroons

The Ateneo Lady Eagles bounced back with a victory against the University of the Philippines Lady Maroons, 41-30. Sunday afternoon at the Blue Eagle Gym.

Both teams started the game aggressively. Valerie Chua got the first basket of the game for the Lady Eagles. But they seemed to lose the ball often in the first ten minutes of play resulting in a 9-0 run for UP. Therese Estrada ended the scoring drought for Ateneo and sparked a 9-0 run for the Lady Eagles. They ended the first quarter on top, 12-11.

Team Captain Sarah Mercado opened the second quarter with three straight points but the Lady Maroons answered back. The Lady Eagles struggled as UP out-rebounded and outscored them towards the end of second quarter. Only three more players aside from Mercado scored in the second quarter. Denise Tiu, Sara Bo-ot, and Danica Jose combined for 6 of the 9 points of Ateneo in the second canto. The Lady Eagles were behind by 2 points at the half, 21-23.

At the start of the third quarter, Coach Cris Quimpo brought back his starting five: Mercado, Chua, Tiu, Claire Aseron and Angelina Morales. Ateneo executed a full court press that forced UP to make turnovers that were converted by Chua and Mercado. That gave the lead back to the Lady Eagles, 27-23. After regaining the lead, the Lady Eagles never looked back and continued to hustle and dominate in the paint. The unconquerable defense of the towering Jose, Mercado, adn Tiu forced the Lady Maroons to score only 4 points in the third quarter. Ateneo was up by 6 at the end of the third quarter, 33-27.

The Lady Eagles’ biggest lead was at 12, 39-27, after baskets from Jose, Mercado, and Bo-ot. Ateneo’s defense continued to tighten up, not allowing the Lady Maroons to score anywhere in the court. UP was held scoreless until SheryAnne Luna hit a three-point basket, which was the only field goal of UP in the fourth quarter, at the 4:35 mark. The Lady Eagles didn’t let up until the final buzzer sounded that signaled their second victory in three games.

The Lady Eagles will face the Far Eastern University Lady Tamaraws next on Wednesday, July 27, 3 pm at the Blue Eagle Gym.

SCORES:
ATENEO: Mercado 11, Jose 6, Estrada 6, Bo-ot 4, Dimaano 4, Chua 4, Ong 3, Tiu 2, Aseron 1, Tantoco 0, Morales 0.

UP: Luna 8, Bautista 8, Casino 5, Daez 3, Wong 2, Topacio 2, Paz 2, Hufanda 0, Luna 0, Mercado 0, Furagganan 0, Binamira 0

Written by: Julienne Manalang