Tigresses rip Lady Tamaraws, stay flawless
OMA Onianwa pumps in 20 points and 10 rebounds to power UST to an 88-42 victory in the UAAP Season 89 women’s basketball tournament on Wednesday.
PHOTOGRAPH courtesy of UAAP
University of Santo Tomas (UST) continued its unbeaten run in dominant fashion, dismantling Far Eastern University (FEU), 88-42, in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 89 women’s basketball tournament on Wednesday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Coming off a victory over modern-day rival National University, the defending champions improved to 4-0 to remain atop the standings. The 46-point rout also raised UST’s average winning margin to 33.25 points through four games.
Meanwhile, the Lady Tamaraws absorbed their second consecutive loss to slip to 2-2.
“The game plan was to stop Amyah (Espanol) and (Victoria) Pasilang, and I think both our individual and team defense said a lot because we held them to just 42 points,” UST head coach Haydee Ong said.
“We started slow coming out of the halftime break in the third quarter — we scored only 14 points and got away from our usual run-and-gun pace. I just told the girls, ‘Go back to what we are comfortable doing.’”
No FEU player scored in double figures, with Espanol leading the Lady Tamaraws with nine points. Pasilang, meanwhile, was held scoreless after missing all nine of her field-goal attempts in 23 minutes of action.
Nigerian standout Oma Onianwa led UST with a double-double of 20 points and 10 rebounds, along with two blocks, while Karylle Sierba contributed 18 points, seven rebounds, and three assists.
The Growling Tigresses imposed their will from the opening tip, racing to a 25-10 lead in the first quarter behind back-to-back layups from Onianwa.
UST showed no signs of slowing down in the second period, holding FEU scoreless for nearly five minutes before Sierba converted a layup to stretch the lead to 33-10.
Onianwa continued to lead the charge as the Growling Tigresses limited the Lady Tamaraws to just 12 points in the second quarter, taking a commanding 43-22 advantage into halftime.
UST sustained its dominance after the break, continuing to widen the gap before outscoring FEU, 31-9, in the final quarter to complete the rout and preserve its perfect start to the season.