Lady Falcons build momentum heading into duel vs champs Tigresses
Adamson won just four games in UAAP women’s basketball last season.
The Lady Falcons are halfway to that output just two games into Season 87—and they have not yet fully fine-tuned their game just yet.
“I want to commend the players with the tight schedule we only had two days to prepare and they bought into what we wanted to do for La Salle,” said Adamson head coach Ryan Monteclaro after his team struck for a 65-54 upset of La Salle on Wednesday at Smart Araneta Coliseum.
“The girls responded well.”
He’ll have more time to sharpen Adamson’s game. And he’ll need it. The Lady Falcons’ will host defending champion University of Santo Tomas on Sunday, with the Tigresses also riding the momentum of a 2-0 (win-loss) start.
UST turned back Kacey Dela Rosa and Ateneo in a later game, 77-54, to grab a share of the early lead with Adamson.
The Lady Falcons beat only two lower-ranked teams last season, Far Eastern U and University of the East. They’ve taken down a team that finished just outside of the Final Four in Season 86 in a manner that should make them among the favorites to play beyond the preliminaries.
But a third straight victory might be a tough one to conceive.
The Tigresses stamped their class against the Blue Eagles, dismissing Dela Rosa’s 22-point, 20-rebound afternoon to keep their title defense humming.
A 32-point opening quarter did the trick for UST, which led by 12 at the end of the first and never looked back as Kent Pastrana, Amby Ambos, Tacky Tacatac, and Eka Soriano found their range from behind the arc.
‘Total team effort’
The Blue Eagles did move within five points in the second half, but that rally was immediately hosed down by Soriano, Pastrana, and Tacatac.
“It’s a total team effort; lwe needed everyone’s help because of course, we know Kacey is there for Ateneo,” said UST coach Haydee Ong. “We tried to limit her output as much as possible but [we still failed]. We’ll need more effort against her in the second round.”
Pastrana led UST with 20 points, eight rebounds, and three steals, while Season 85 MVP Soriano added 12 points, seven assists, three rebounds, and two steals.
Tacatac scored 14 points, including four three-pointers, and Ambis chipped in with 10 points and seven rebounds.
The Blue Eagles, who fell to 1-1 and slid to fourth place in the standings despite a solid performance from Del Rosa, the 6-foot junior who made eight of 11 shots from the field.
La Salle also rallied in the third frame after Adamson stormed to a 33-19 lead in the first half.
The Lady Archers knotted the count at 35 as Arabell Bacierto drained triple with six minutes left in the third.
However, Elaine Etang, Jam Meniano, and Brianna Bajo righted the ship for Adamson, which opened up a 48-37 lead entering the fourth.
Etang, who was part of Gilas Women’s 3×3 pool that competed in the FIBA 3×3 Nations League, led the charge with 15 points, five rebounds, and five steals and will be expected to spearhead Adamson’s bid against UST.
“We’ve been playing for how many seasons already and we rarely win,” Kat Agojo, a senior who had 12 points and five rebounds, said. “I motivated myself to give my best for the win. I don’t like to be always in a [losing] position.” INQ
