ROUND ONE

Lady Bulldogs get ready for first game vs dynasty ending queens Tigresses

Senior forward Camille Clarin (left) will provide NU with scoring and leadership.

The early season assessment will boil down to this playdate for two teams in the UAAP Season 87 women’s basketball tournament.

The fallen dynasty. The defending champions who authored that fall.

Both teams riding into Saturday’s marquee showdown on the back of three straight wins.

Both teams unsatisfied with the tail end of those wins and admitting there is much work to be done before they face off.

National University broke out of a tied game at halftime by scoring 16 unanswered points on the way to a 76-64 victory over University of the Philippines on Wednesday at Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Somehow, the Lady Bulldogs were unimpressed by how they carved out the victory.

“This game was really challenging for us,” said Princess Fabruada, one of the instigators of a 16-0 start in the third that put the game away, 57-41. “We had a good start in the second half then we threw the ball away a lot, so we have to adjust those errors and mistakes.”

Princess Fabruada, who led NU in scoring against UP, looks to step up against UST. —PHOTOS FROM UAAP MEDIA

Valid concerns

Aloha Betanio, who joined hands with Fabruada and Maymay Canuto in that blistering start to the second half, also pointed out earlier miscues by National U that needed polishing.

“We gave up 29 points in the second quarter and we don’t usually do that,” said Betanio, who finished with 13 points, four rebounds, four steals, and two assists. “So in the second half, we responded to coach, who told us everything starts with our defense.”

The concerns of Betanio and Fabruada, who finished with 16 points and five rebounds, are legitimate.

The Tigresses are hoping Amby Ambos can find her range against the Lady Bulldogs.

On Saturday, the Lady Bulldogs go up against University of Santo Tomas for the first time since the Tigresses ended the Lady Bulldogs’ run of seven straight UAAP championships with a stunning upset last season.

Both are undefeated at 3-0 (win-loss) this season. But when this coming weekend is over, one of them will fall.

For the Lady Bulldogs, payback isn’t the motivation.

“We never look at the past things already,” NU head coach Aris Dimaunahan said. “We will prepare for UST with no emotions.”

“We just have to play NU basketball,” Betanio added.

“We need to adjust in our training the things we learned [in] this game,” Fabruada said.

Aloha Betanio (right) puts up a shot against the Maroons.

Shooting problems

If there’s reason to be optimistic, it’s the fact that the Tigresses were less satisfied with the win they will be taking into the Saturday encounter.

UST struggled all game long before steeling itself down the stretch to hold off a hustling Adamson Lady Falcons, 58-55.

Kent Pastrana will spearhead the Tigresses on Saturday.

Kent Pastrana delivered late in the game despite her own shooting problems and finished with 15 points, 11 rebounds, and two blocks to lead UST, who, according to coach Haydee Ong, needed the game’s last minute to compensate for how bad the Tigresses played in the first 39.

“We played really bad,” Ong added. “We’re going to talk about this and find out during our viewing [of the game tape] why we started slow, why our defense was bad and our offense too.”

The two teams clash at 11:30 a.m., also at the Big Dome.

UP dropped to 1-2 and returns to action on Sunday where it battles Far Eastern U.

The Lady Tamaraws finally delivered a win for new coach Raiza Palmera-Dy by tripping University of the East, 62-56, in the other Wednesday game. INQ