The UP Fighting Maroons pulled off the biggest result of the day in the UAAP Season 89 Women’s Basketball Tournament, stunning the NU Lady Bulldogs, 82-71, at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
UP led 46-42 at halftime, but NU came out strong in the third quarter and took a five-point lead. Kennan Ka helped the Fighting Maroons claw back to tie the game at 55, and they carried a 69-63 lead into the fourth. NU struggled to find the basket in the final period, and Camille Nolasco’s three-pointer with about a minute left gave UP a double-digit lead.
“We know that NU is a formidable team, but it did not get into our heads,” said UP head coach Eric Altamirano. “They showed poise, they showed confidence when they played against a formidable team like NU.”
Blessing Francis led the Fighting Maroons with 24 points and 8 rebounds. Louna Ozar had 16 points, 6 assists, 5 rebounds, and 5 steals, Nolasco added 16 points, and Ka chipped in 10. For NU, Kristine Cayabyab finished the game with 13 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 assists, while Marga Villanueva contributed 11 points.
UST Stays Unbeaten, Routs La Salle
Defending champions UST Growling Tigresses, meanwhile, stayed unbeaten with an 83-62 rout of the La Salle Lady Archers. La Salle hung close early, and Bukky Ojo’s layup in the second quarter cut the deficit to one, 27-28. The Growling Tigresses answered with a 10-0 run, capped by CJ Maglupay’s and-one, and never looked back. Oma Onianwa’s putback with just over five minutes left made it 73-52.
“Every quarter, we wanted na dapat palagi kami ‘yung lamang and hopefully ma-sustain ng mga girls,” said UST head coach Haydee Ong. “‘Yung defense namin, I think we just got outrebounded, and we have to check on that for our next game against UP.”
Karylle Sierba led UST with 20 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 steals. Maglupay added 14 points and 4 steals, Brigette Santos had 12 points and 4 assists, and Agatha Bron chipped in 11 points and 3 assists. Ojo posted a double-double of 21 points and 12 rebounds for La Salle, while Kyla Go contributed 10 points.
Adamson Holds Off Ateneo
In the late game, the Adamson Lady Falcons held off the Ateneo Blue Eagles, 79-70, for their fourth straight win. Adamson led 49-36 at halftime, but Ateneo answered with a 10-2 run, capped by a Calago buzzer-beater, to trail by just two, 61-63, after three quarters. Kacey Dela Rosa later cut the deficit to one, but Kim Limbago’s jumper with 2:52 left restored a five-point lead for Adamson. Elaine Etang’s basket with 49.4 seconds left was the final blow, and Brianna Bajo sealed the win from the free-throw line.
“If this was around Season 86 noong rookies pa sila, for sure they wouldn’t react the same way as they did now,” said Adamson head coach Jed Colonia, who also pointed to the late tipoff. “We never expected to play at 9 p.m., and we finished at 11 p.m.; even superheroes will have a hard time.”
Etang led the Lady Falcons with 21 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, and 3 steals. Cheska Apag added 17 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, and 3 steals, and Jam Meniano contributed 12 points and 6 assists. Dela Rosa had a double-double of 30 points and 11 rebounds for Ateneo, while Seng Calago finished the game with 10 points, 9 rebounds, and 6 assists.
FEU Snaps Skid, Beats UE
The FEU Lady Tamaraws, for its part, snapped a three-game skid with a 73-53 win over the UE Lady Warriors, handing UE its 30th straight loss. The Lady Tamaraws led 43-30 at halftime and pulled away in the third quarter with a 10-1 run to go up 58-38. Erica Lopez’s three-pointer with under four minutes left pushed the lead to 23.
“This is the most important game for us,” said FEU head coach Raiza Palmera-Dy. She added that her team leans on physical play to make up for its lack of size: “We are not the most skilled team here in the UAAP.”
Lopez led FEU with 14 points. Amyah Espanol added 10 points, 8 rebounds, and 3 assists, while MJ Manguiat chipped in 10 points and 3 assists. For UE, Sy Oñate had 18 points and 4 steals, and Rachel Lacayanga contributed 16 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 steals.
The first round wraps up this weekend at the Blue Eagle Gym in Quezon City. On Saturday, October 24, FEU faces Adamson at 10:00 a.m., followed by NU vs. La Salle at 12:00 p.m. On Sunday, October 25, UE takes on Ateneo at 10:00 a.m., and UST closes out the round against UP at 12:00 p.m.
