Lady Tamaraws nip Lady Falcons to end slump

MANILA, Philippines -- The Far Eastern University Lady Tamaraws arrested their four-game losing streak after squeaking past the Adamson Lady Falcons, 67-64, in a stunner in UAAP women's basketball action Saturday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

FEU thus kicked off its second round campaign with a win and rose to 2-6.

EJ Lopez led the charge for the Lady Tamaraws with 17 points, as she drilled in four 3-pointers in the fourth quarter.

Adamson led by three, 63-60, with two minutes remaining after a pair of free throws by Cheska Apag.

Shane Salvani then answered with a deuce to keep it at a one-point advantage, 62-63, with 1:37 to go.

Apag was fouled in the next possession, but split her free throws. Lopez then sank a go-ahead 3-pointer that pushed FEU to the lead, 65-64, with 1:01 left.

Elaine Etang and Victoria Adeshina missed potential game-leading jumpers with the game winding down.

A pair of free throws by Salvani put the Lady Tamaraws firmly ahead, 67-64, with 11 seconds remaining.

But Etang and Cris Padilla committed crucial turnovers to secure FEU’s win.

“I’m not surprised na ganito ang nilaro namin. I’ve seen them play every day, six times a week, and naniniwala ako na kaya nila. Like I’ve mentioned in the first round, kailangan lang namin mag sabay sabay na merong magandang nilalaro,” FEU head coach Raiza Palmera-Dy said.

Yvette Villanueva backstopped Lopez with 13 points, nine rebounds and four blocks. Salvani, MJ Manguiat and Rea Ong all chipped in eight points apiece.

Etang spearheaded the 5-3 Lady Falcons with 16 points, six rebounds, three steals and two assists.

Later in the day, the La Salle Lady Archers decimated the University of the East Lady Warriors, 74-46.

The Taft-based squad bounced back from UE’s shocking win in the first round, which broke the latter’s 40-game losing streak that dated back to Season 82.

The Lady Archers started the game on fire, grabbing a 23 point lead, 50-27, at the half.

The Lady Warriors were able to inch closer to just 16 points, 37-53, before La Salle retaliated with a 14-0 run to push the lead to 30, 67-37.

“For us, we’re just looking at correcting our mistakes. Things that we did wrong, the habits we had nung first round, we just want to correct them,” La Salle head coach Cholo Villanueva said.

“It’s like that in anything that you do, you make mistakes, you correct them, and then you build good habits from those.”

Patricia Mendoza led La Salle with 15 points, five rebounds, two assists and two blocks. Bernice Paraiso added 13 markers and 10 boards, while Arabell Bacierto and Luisa San Juan chipped in 12 apiece.

Moana Vacalares paced UE with 12 points, followed by Rachel Lacayanga with 11.

La Salle rose to 2-6 in the season, while UE dropped to 1-7.

All four teams will be seeing action in next weekend’s games.

Adamson will take on La Salle on Saturday, 6 p.m., while FEU will charge against UE on Sunday, 10 a.m., both at the UST Quadricentennial Pavilion in Manila.