By Marcus Isaac D.G. Bandong

Far Eastern University (FEU) Lady Tamaraws suffered a beatdown from defending champions National University (NU) Lady Bulldogs, 64-89, in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 88 women’s basketball tourney earlier today, September 27, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City.

FEU was bombarded from the get-go courtesy of NU's quick threes and fastbreak buckets, 0-8.

The Lady Tamaraws were able to stay close to the blue-and-gold squad through team captain Yvette Villanueva and Amyah Espanol's own triples, 6-11.

However, the Morayta-based squad was unable to fend off the Jhocson-based cagebelles’ offensive barrage which resulted in an early 17-point deficit for FEU, 19-36.

Entering the second frame, the green-and-gold team were still unable to penetrate through the Lady Bulldogs’ defense, 20-45.

Despite the struggles in making their shots, the Lady Tamaraws made most of their buckets from the charity stripe, 28-49.

In the third canto, FEU's heightened defense and early offense resulted in a short seesaw battle with NU, 36-55.

Despite their gritty defense, the Raiza Palmera-Dy-led squad could not contain the blue-and-gold cagebelles’ offense down low, 42-67.

In the final frame, FEU was unable to answer NU's stellar play until the final buzzer, 55-87.

Fil-Canadian Lady Tamaraw rookie Shemaiah Abatayo showed out on her first game with 15 points, seven rebounds, and two steals. Her fellow rookie, Amyah Espanol, played solid with 12 points and four rebounds.

Meanwhile, forward Villanueva also pitched in 15 points and seven rebounds.

In an interview with FEU Advocate, Coach Raiza expressed that she was not shocked by rookies Abatayo and Espanol's performance and showed confidence in future games.

"Actually, I'm not shocked naman with their performance, I've seen them play for a few months, so I know na magkakaroon talaga sila ng (that they will have an) impact this season," the lead tactician said.

After a 25-point deficit loss, she emphasized their need for improvement on both sides of the court.

"In terms of improvement, siguro 'yung (I think our) rotation namin on defense we need to polish it more, on offense, siguro (I think) we just need to simplify everything," coach Raiza shared.

With a rough start, FEU will hunt for their first win against De La Salle University on Wednesday, October 1, at the University of Santo Tomas Quadricentennial Pavilion.
(Photo by James Neil Tamayo/FEU Advocate)