Far Eastern University (FEU) Lady Tamaraws leaned on offensive play to subdue the University of the East (UE) Lady Warriors, 73-53, in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 89 women’s basketball tourney earlier today, October 21, at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
The green-and-gold squad overcame an early deficit against the red-and-white Lady Warriors with forward Amyah Espanol’s immediate response to level the score at 2-2.
Despite attempts from the Recto-based team, the Lady Tamaraws’ offensive momentum while hitting the parameters with consecutive converted free throws sustained the lead, 27-18.
Coming into the second frame, the Raiza Palmera-Dy-led squad started slowly before FEU guard Maxene Dela Torre split her free throws, followed by MJ Manguiat’s knocked down back-to-back triples, 37-27.
Tamaraw cagebelles Espanol and Victoria Pasilang capitalized in maintaining FEU’s cushion with a 2-of-2 from the line as they carried a 43-30 advantage into the succeeding quarter.
Coming out of halftime, momentum stayed with the Morayta-based squad courtesy of Pasilang’s early response as they stretched the lead to 47-33.
EJ Lopez capped a triple in the final minute, extending FEU’s command into the final quarter.
Entering the fourth frame, the Morayta-based squad kept UE at bay as Lopez connected beyond the arc before Rea Ong nailed a two-point jumper to extend the lead, 68-45.
The Lady Tamaraws remained in control until the final whistle as Lopez sank a deep triple with four minutes remaining, followed by Lorelie Gavaran’s two-pointer finish to close with a 73-53 win.
In a post-game conference, FEU head coach Palmera-Dy recounted the team’s realizations following previous losses.
“It's very important for us to go over the hump after ng our three straight losses namin against Ateneo, UST [University of Santo Tomas], and then NU [National University]. So, sabi ko nga sa kanila sa huddle, this is the most important game for us just to go over the hump. We cannot think about any other games. We have to focus on this game and we have to get this game. Luckily and thankfully, we were able to win,” she stated.
Moreover, the head coach emphasized the importance of a rough-and-tumble game for the team.
“One thing that we’ve learned [from] the past few games is that if we play physically, we can be right there,” Palmera-Dy expressed.
As round one nears its end, Lady Tamaraw Lopez also stated that this game gave them more confidence heading into the final match against Adamson.
“‘Yung panalo na ‘to nagbigay ng kumpiyansa sa amin for next game against Adamson, and tulad nga po ng sabi ni Coach Rai sa amin during huddle na always do the right thing and always know your role sa team (This victory gave us confidence for the next game against Adamson, and like what Coach Rai said during the huddle, always do the right thing and know your role in the team),” the FEU guard remarked.
Lopez led the scoring with 14 points, followed by Espanol and Manguiat withwith 10 markers each.
FEU now sits on a 3-3 win-loss record and seeks to end round one on a good note as they face Adamson University this Saturday, October 24, at the Blue Eagle Gym in Quezon City.
(Photo courtesy of the UAAP Media Team)