Adamson breeze past UE, UP shocks DLSU with late comeback

Adamson University ended the first round of the UAAP Season 87 Women’s Basketball Tournament, securing a solo third place following a 63-51 win against University of the East on Sunday, October 6, at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.

The Lady Falcons delivered a stellar performance for their Season 87 campaign, closing out the first round with a 5-2 record. The last time they achieved this much success was when they finished third place after losing against De La Salle University back in Season 75 in 2012.

“I’m very happy with how the first round went for us. It’s all about the effort of the players. On our part, we’ll just guide them,” said Lady Falcons head coach Ryan Monteclaro.

The third quarter became a challenge for the Lady Falcons as they had to weather UE’s charges. The Lady Warriors kicked off the second half with a 16-6 run fueled with Ivy Yanez’s eight-point surge to cut the deficit to 47-37.

However, Adamson was able to quickly regain their composure with nine unanswered points in the final period as their lead ballooned to 56-37 advantage eventually sealing the game to secure their fifth win of the season. 

Monteclaro fielded all of 16 of his players, with 13 of them getting on the scoresheet.

Kim Limbago tallied 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting with three assists, two rebounds, and one steal for the Lady Falcons. Kim Adeshina supplemented seven markers, 11 boards, three blocks, one deflection, and one dime, while Angela Alaba contributed seven points, four rebounds, two assists, and two steals.

Yanez led the Lady Warriors with 16 markers, six boards, three dimes, and one block, while Katherine Ruiz and Aliyah Ronquillo supplied 12 and 10 points, respectively, in the losing effort.

On the other hand, University of the Philippine eked out a come-from-behind win, 66-62, over De La Salle University to end a two-game losing skid.

Their hard-earned victory registered them a 3-4 record to place them in fourth place in the league standings. 

"I'm just really so happy we won in the last game of our first round. We lost two consecutive games before this so we badly needed this entering the second round. I'm really proud of the girls that we held on and fought back from a huge deficit," UP coach Paul Ramos said.

Entering the final period, three clutch three-pointers courtesy of Achrissa Maw, Christi Bariquit, and Rizza Lozada propelled them to a 61-60 advantage with just 3:38 on the clock.

The Lady Archers committed three critical turnovers in the final two minutes with Luisa San Juan called for two dribbling violations and a travel by Micay Rodriguez.

Maw led UP’s bounced back efforts with 18 points on 7-of-12 from the field along with eight rebounds, two assists, and one steal, while Gilas Women guard Louna Ozar delivered a double-double of 13 markers, 12 boards, six dimes, and one deflections. 

San Juan finished the game with 23 points, eight rebounds, and five assists, while Bernice Paraiso chipped in 13 markers, six boards, and four dimes in the losing effort.

La Salle slipped to a 1-6 record in the first round, tied for last place with Far Eastern University and University of the East in the eight-team league.

THE SCORES:

First Game:

ADU (63) - Limbago 10, Alaba 7, Adeshina 7, Apag 6, Etang 5, Mazo 5, Bajo 5, Ornopia 4, Delos Santos 4, Agojo 3, Alaba 3, Manlimos 2, Meniano 2, Padilla 0, Trabado 0, Cortez 0. 

UE (51) - Yanez 16, Ruiz 12, Ronquillo 10, Ganade 6, Kone 5, Cruz 2, Lumibao 0, Gomez 0, Vacalares 0, Buscar 0, Dalguntas 0.

Quarter Scores: 23-6, 41-21, 53-37, 63-51

Second Game:

UP (66) – Maw 18, Ozar 13, Pesquera 11, Bariquit 11, Tapawan 8, Lozada 5, Mendoza 0, Jimenez 0, Barba 0, Sauz 0, Solitario 0, Nolasco 0, Quinquinio 0, Vingno 0.

DLSU (62) – San Juan 23, Paraiso 13, Sario 7, Dalisay 5, Camba 5, Mendoza 4, Sunga 3, Barcierto 2, Santos 0, Rodriguez 0, Dela Paz 0.

Quarter Scores: 17-15, 35-33, 46-56, 66-62