Victoria Pasilang’s putback with 7.8 seconds left lifted the FEU Lady Tamaraws past the Adamson Lady Falcons, 50-48, in the UAAP Season 89 Women’s Basketball Tournament at the Blue Eagle Gym in Quezon City.
FEU built a 34-19 halftime lead, but Adamson slowly chipped away in the second half. Kim Limbago’s free throws cut the deficit to four, 42-46, with under five minutes left, and Amyah Espanol answered with a putback to push FEU’s lead back to six.
The Lady Tamaraws then went nearly four minutes without a basket, and Adamson closed in with a 6-0 run. Trix Burgos’ free throws tied the game at 48 with 56 seconds remaining.
With the game on the line, Elaine Patio missed a pull-up jumper, but Pasilang was there for the putback. Elaine Etang’s layup at the other end fell short to give the Lady Tamaraws the victory.
“Nothing about the last shot. It’s a collective effort, eh,” said FEU head coach Raiza Palmera-Dy. “We were up, pero kailangan 0-0 ang mindset pagdating ng second half.”
Pasilang led the Lady Tamaraws with 18 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 steals, while Patio added 15 points and 6 rebounds. For Adamson, Cheska Apag and Etang had 11 points each.
NU Rallies Past La Salle
Later that day, the National Lady Bulldogs came back to beat the La Salle Lady Archers, 75-71. The Lady Archers led by as many as 13 points in the first quarter and took a 43-34 lead into halftime behind Bukky Ojo’s 23 first-half points.
The Lady Bulldogs came out of the halftime break with 21 unanswered points, capped by Kristine Cayabyab’s three, to go up 55-46. La Salle fought back to tie the game at 57 and led for the last time at 62-60 with eight minutes left.
From there, Cielo Pagdulagan and Ann Pingol hit timely threes, and Cayabyab’s jumper capped a 15-1 run to give their team a comfortable lead, 75-63.
“La Salle is playing well, but they’re not able to get wins, pero ang games nila ay always close,” said NU head coach DA Olan. “It’s really a struggle for us in the paint, especially playing teams with foreign-student athletes.”
Pagdulagan led the Lady Bulldogs with 18 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals. Pingol added 14 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, and 5 steals, while Cayabyab chipped in 10 points and 7 rebounds.
For La Salle, Ojo finished with 29 points and 15 rebounds, while Kyla Go added 21 points and 5 assists.
NU returns to action on Wednesday, October 28, against the Ateneo Blue Eagles at 12:00 p.m. at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City. Earlier that day at 8:00 a.m., La Salle will look to bounce back against the UE Lady Warriors.
On Saturday, October 31, FEU goes for its third straight win when it faces NU at 10:00 a.m., while Adamson tries to regroup against Ateneo at 12:00 p.m.
