UAAP women's hoops: Ateneo swoops down on Lady Tams, boost Final Four bid

MANILA, Philippines — The Ateneo Blue Eagles tallied a much needed win with a 67-50 blowout of the FEU Lady Tamaraws in the UAAP Season 85 women's basketball tournament here at the UST Quadricentennial Pavilion in Espana on Saturday.

With the race to the last spot in the Final Four still tight with rivals UP Fighting Maroons, Ateneo bucked a slow start against the also-ran Lady Tams to snap a three-game slump and improve to 6-6.

After ending the opening salvo down 12-19, Ateneo amped up their defense on FEU playmaker Camille Taguiam to limit the Lady Tams to just eight points in the second salvo while scoring 21 of their own.

"We couldn't make a basket so sabi lang naman we needed to up our energy. Kinakabahan kami, so kung ano man yung kaba namin we just funneled it into defense," said Ateneo head coach LA Mumar.

That flipped the script as they claimed a 33-27 advantage at the break.

Despite Kacey Dela Rosa running into foul trouble early, Ateneo foreign student-athlete Sarah Makanjoula stepped up to the plate with 22 points and 10 rebounds to pace Ateneo to victory.

Jhaz Joson nailed two freebies late in the game to give the Blue Eagles its biggest lead of the game at 18, 65-46, with 1:25 ticks left in the game.

Junzie Calago added 15 markers while Joson had an all-around game of 13 points, eight assists, and six rebounds.

Queenie Aquino paced FEU with 10 markers. The Lady Tams fell to 2-10 for the season.

Ateneo faces UE next to further their bid for the Final Four while FEU faces Adamson on Wednesday still here at the Quadricentennial Pavilion.

The scores

Ateneo (67) - Makanjoula 22, Calago 15, Joson 13, Miranda 7, Eufemiano 6, Dela Rosa 4, Cruza 0, Nieves 0, Villacruz 0
FEU (50) - Aquino 10, Jumuad 9, Taguiam 8, Pacia 8, Go 7, Delos Santos 4, Manguiat 2, Paras 2, Obien 0, Samonte 0, Lopez 0

Quarter scores: 12-19, 33-27, 51-41, 67-50