Red-hot UST nears first-round sweep
KARYLLE Sierba delivers, leading the UST Tigresses to an 83-62 win over the La Salle Lady Archers in Season 89 UAAP women’s basketball tournament on Wednesday.
Photograph courtesy of UAAP
University of Santo Tomas (UST) used a strong second half to beat De La Salle University, 83-62, and move closer to a first-round sweep in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines Season 89 women’s basketball tournament on Wednesday at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
With the win, the Growling Tigresses extended their perfect run to six games, while the Lady Archers absorbed their fourth consecutive loss to fall to 1-5.
“We have to be consistent on both ends of the court. If we’re struggling a bit on offense, at least we shouldn’t let our opponents score either,” UST head coach Haydee Ong said.
“Every quarter, we want to make sure we’re always ahead, and hopefully the girls can sustain that because all the teams are targeting us — so we have to do better every single game.”
The Tigresses will look to complete a first-round sweep for the second straight year when they face the University of the Philippines on Sunday at the same venue.
The Lady Archers remained within striking distance of the defending champions, with Bukky Ojo converting a layup to cut La Salle’s deficit to just one, 28-27. However, UST responded with a 10-0 run, capped by CJ Maglupay’s and-one conversion, to stretch its lead to 11, 38-27.
Karylle Sierba then drilled a three-pointer to keep La Salle at bay before halftime, as UST took a 40-32 lead into the break.
La Salle struggled to score in the opening three minutes of the third quarter before Aiesha Dizon converted her free throws to trim the deficit to nine, 44-35.
UST gradually pulled away in the third quarter, with Sierba pouring in 11 points to help the Growling Tigresses maintain control. Agatha Bron then knocked down a triple before the buzzer to give UST a 62-49 advantage heading into the final period.
The Growling Tigresses delivered the finishing blows early in the fourth quarter, unleashing a 10-3 run capped by Oma Onianwa’s putback layup to extend their lead to 21, 73-52, with just over five minutes remaining.
“When La Salle made adjustments at halftime, our pace slowed down a bit. That’s why I emphasized to the girls that before La Salle can set up their defense, we should run and take advantage of our transition offense,” Ong said.