Tigresses escape Lady Falcons to stay unscathed

MANILA, Philippines — The University of Santo Tomas Growling Tigresses remained unblemished in the UAAP Season 87 women’s basketball tournament after surviving the Adamson Lady Falcons, 58-55, Sunday at the Adamson Gym.

With the game tied at 55 with at the minute and a half mark of the game, Kent Pastrana stole the ball from Cris Padilla and sank the go-ahead layup to take the lead for good.

On the other end, the Lady Falcons could not connect on their shots, with Padilla and Kat Agojo missing their attempts.

A split from the line by Brigette Santos with 9.8 seconds remaining iced the game, as Cheska Apag missed an attempt from deep as time was winding down.

“It is a bad game, but still, a win is a win. We will discuss and watch why we had a slow start, bad defense and bad offense,” head coach Haydee Ong said.

Pastrana spearheaded the defending champions with 15 points, 11 rebounds, two blocks, a steal and an assist.

Rachelle Ambos added 10 markers and six boards.

The now-3-0 UST, though, shot just 29% from the field with a 20-of-69 clip, along with a 7-of-27 shooting from 3-point country.

Padilla paced Adamson with 19 points, while Elaine Etang had 11.

In the second game of women’s play, the Ateneo Blue Eagles fended off a furious rally by archrivals La Salle Lady Archers, 65-62.

Reigning league Most Valuable Player Kacey dela Rosa had another huge performance for the Blue Eagles with 24 points, 16 rebounds and four blocks, with 16 markers coming in the first two quarters.

Ateneo led by as much as 18 points, 47-29, in the third quarter and they held a 13 point advantage, 51-38, heading into the final frame.

La Salle’s Luisa San Juan, though, heated up and unleashed 3-pointer after 3-pointer to tow the Lady Archers back in it.

The lead shrank to just one, 63-62, with 31.5 seconds remaining after a Bea Dalisay trey.

While the Taft-based cagers were able to secure stops, they could not capitalize down the stretch.

Kai Oani, then, sank two free throws to secure the win, as San Juan’s Hail Mary missed the mark.

“It’s a rivalry game, so it’s big for us. A win against La Salle is a win against La Salle. It’s a good test for us, but there’s still so much to learn,” Austria said.

Junize Calago produced 13 markers for Ateneo to go with nine rebounds and six assists. Sarah Makanjuola and Oani added eight apiece.

San Juan finished with a career-high 24 points on 8-of-23 shooting.

Ateneo and Adamson are now tied with 2-1 records. La Salle dropped to 0-3 in the season.