MANILA, Philippines (Updated 1:49 p.m.) – The UAAP's longest winning streak is now over.
The NU Lady Bulldogs' historic run in the UAAP women's basketball tournament has now ended as the DLSU Lady Archers staged a huge upset in overtime, 61-57, at the UST Quadricentennial Pavilion in Manila on Wednesday.
The Lady Archers, second in the standings to the six-time defending champions, handed the Lady Bulldogs their first loss since October 5, 2013.
"Well, my girls just wanted it more. They get all the credit today." said La Salle head coach Cholo Villanueva.
"They were the one making the right decisions on defense, they were the ones making the right decisions on offense, they just didn't want to let that ball to let go from their hands, every time on every possession. Every time they shoot their shoot, they shoot it with confidence so all the credit goes to my girls for a one heck of a game." he continued.
Coincidentally, it was also La Salle who last beat them that year — in Game Three of the Finals where the Taft-based squad claimed the crown with 69-61 victory.
NU threatened to come back as a Camille Clarin three got them within two, 55-57, with 1:23 left in the extra period.
But Bettina Binaohan got away inside and Lee Sario provided clutch makes from the free throw line to give the Lady Archers breathing room, 61-55, with 43 ticks remaining.
Edimo Tiky scored a bucket to reach the final score.
Because of the loss, which drops NU to 12-1, the women's tournament will see a traditional Final Four for the first time since UAAP Season 76.
La Salle improved to 11-2, winning their last seven games.
Fina Tchuido did the heavy lifting for the Lady Archers with 19 boards and 14 points. Charmaine Torres contributed 13 points while Sario and Binaohan chipped in 10 each.
Mikka Cacho had 12 points while Angel Surada added 11 in the losing effort for the Lady Bulldogs.
Before the Lady Bulldogs, the UAAP's longest win streak was held by the Adamson Lady Falcons softball team, who pulled off 73 straight victories.
Meanwhile, Wednesday’s loss also denied the Lady Bulldogs the chance to match the feat of the US NCAA team's UConn Huskies, who held a 111-game winning streak that ended in 2017.
NU will thus look to bounce back win when they finish eliminations on Saturday against Adamson. La Salle, meanwhile, will attempt to continue their streak against the UE Lady Warriors on the same day.
In the earlier game, the UST Growling Tigresses sent the UP Fighting Maroons to the brink of elimination with a wire-to-wire 85-52 victory.
The scores:
LA SALLE (61) - Tchuido 14, Torres 13, Sario 10, Binaohan 10, De La Paz 7, Jimenez 5, Arciga 2, Ahmed 0.
NU (57) - Cacho 12, Surada 11, Cayabyab 7, Clarin 7, Tiky 6, Pingol 6, Canuto 3, Solis 3, Fabruada 2, Bartolo 0, Betanio 0.
Quarters: 14-12, 32-25, 37-36, 49-49. 61-57