Lady Bulldogs roll to 8th win; Tigresses lurk at 7-1
Manila: Unbeaten National University kicked off its second-round campaign with an 82-62 thrashing of Ateneo de Manila University in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 87 women’s basketball tournament at Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City on Sunday.
Rookie Cielo Pagdulagan finished with 16 points, seven assists, six rebounds and five steals as the Lady Bulldogs rolled to their eighth consecutive win.
NU also beat Ateneo, 66-58, in the first round on Oct. 5, extending its mastery over the Katipunan-based team to 20 games since 2012’s Season 75.
Aloha Betanio and Gypsey May Canuto chipped in 11 points each while Jainaba Konateh added eight points.
Betanio also had five rebounds, four steals and three assists, while Canuto grabbed four rebounds and stole twice.
‘It’s a testament to how strong she is because her game was a bit up-and-down in the first round. She’s finding the consistency that we’re looking for and I thought today was her breakout game,’ NU coach Aris Dimau
nahan said of Pagdulagan in the post-match press conference.
‘Those numbers tell how dedicated she is and how open her heart and mind (are) for advice when she was struggling in the first round.’
Kacey Dela Rosa scored 22 points on top of 17 rebounds for the Blue Eagles, who remained in fourth place at 4-4.
Nigerian center Sarah Makanjoula contributed seven points, 11 rebounds, two steals, one block, and one assist.
In the other game, defending champion University of Santo Tomas whipped University of the Philippines, 84-57, to stay in second place at 7-1.
Ana Mae Tacatac and Karylle Sierba delivered five triples for the Tigresses who are on a four-game streak.
Tacatac finished with 23 points and two steals, while Sierba had 15 points and three steals.
They led 41-38 at halftime and 60-46 entering the final period.
‘I just told the girls that at the start of the second round, we want to be better, we want to be more consistent, we want to be stronger,’ UST coach Haydee Ong said. ‘First half was a see-s
aw battle. I told them at the dugout, it’s us in the second half.’
Louna Ozar had 15 points, seven rebounds, three assists and two steals for the Fighting Maroons, who dropped to 3-5 for fifth place.
Ozar scored four straight points to enable UP to trim the gap to 50-60 in the fourth.
UST, however, answered with a 17-2 run for a 77-52 advantage, five minutes remaining.
Source: Philippines News Agency