The Ateneo-La Salle rivalry is every bit exciting as expected. Extending from Men's Basketball to Juniors, the Women strutted their stuff as well. After a lacklustre 1st half from the Lady Eagles, who trailed as much as 18, caught fire in the 2nd half, courtesy of Sam Ong, Jen Dimaano, Alyssa Dogong, Val Chua, Sarah Mercado, Mariana Lopa, with defensive stopper Cess Trinidad tying the ball game at the end of regulation to send it to overtime. The Lady Eagles could have actually won during the regulation, but missed free-throws caused them 5 extra minutes.
During overtime, both teams were in penalty. Yet, the Lady Eagles led by as much as 6 points. Until, turnovers, and paltry free-throw shooting allowed the Lady Archers to climb their way back into the game. With Sarah Mercado splitting her charities for a 60-61 count, the Lady Archers had 28.8 seconds for a fresh possession.
Hence, the next possession saw the Lady Archers melted the clock away, with Rookie Trisha Piatos of La Salle (from ADDU), knocking a 3-pointer from the top of the key, Swoosh! Six seconds left and the Lady Eagles weren't able to convert in their final possession. Final score, 60-64, a heart-stopping win for the Lady Archers.
Kudos to Kady Wilson, Miller Ong, Trisha Piatos and the rest of the team. Their pressure defense, execution and rebounding allowed them to take more shots and extra possessions. Compared to the Lady Eagles who were miserable from the line, committed lots of turnovers, and were simply outplayed and out hustled by the Team who wants it more.
By Aug 15, round 1 will be over. The Lady Eagles will have to be consistent and end on a high note prior to starting the 2nd round if they want to have a shot at the Final 4. Right now, I'm predicting the Final 4 scenario (not in order): FEU Lady Tamaraws, AdU Lady Falcons, UST Lady Tigresses, and DLSU Lady Archers.
Perhaps, since the Ateneo Lady Eagles are 'rebuilding' after a dismal 6th place last year, defeating NU and UE twice, it would be a decent goal for them to reach 5th place this year. Besides, they have the tools: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ateneo_Blue_Eagles. Pretty much, the roster is filled by former high school standouts. Mariana Lopa and the famed junior class will have to step up and show the rookies and sophomores that this team has the spunk! In comparison with the 05' and '07 champs, they need a center, probably, Danica Jose of Miriam College should fill that void. They need a scorer as well, someone consistent. Surely, next year's recruiting class is famed as well: Jamie Ko of Angelicum College and Kitkat Nitorreda of MC?
Hopefully, they will be able to turn things around before its too late =)
Go Lady Eagles!
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