DE LA SALLE University routed University of the Philippines (UP), 73-51, to start its University Athletic Association of the Philippines Season 85 women’s basketball campaign on Saturday at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.
Fina Niantcho showed her might from the get-go and scored 12 of her 16 points in the first half to go with 12 rebounds and three steals.
“It’s a good start for us. We just wanted to execute properly during our first game,” La Salle head coach Cholo Villanueva said. “Good thing the girls responded well,”
The Lady Archers set the tone early in the match, easing to a 19-8 opening frame before extending their advantage to 16 at the break, 35-19.
The Fighting Maroons though after La Salle stretched its lead to 25 had a spirited 9-3 run to end the third to pull within 19, 38-57, but they could not continue their heater in the fourth.
But the Lady Archers responded with a 16-3 rally in the fourth to ice the game completely, 73-41, with less than four minutes left.
Luisa San Juan, on the other hand, made 10 of her 12 points in the second half for La Salle, while Lee Sario just missed a double-double with nine points and eight rebounds.
The Lady Archers limited UP to just 18.5 percent shooting from the field, a poor 12-of-65 clip, while converting 37.7 percent of their 77 attempts.
Acrissa Maw was the lone Fighting Maroon in double digits with 11 points to go with her eight rebounds, three steals and two blocks.
The Lady Archers go for a second victory on Wednesday, 9 am against University of Santo Tomas to open the quadruple-header at the UST Quadricentennial Pavilion. The Fighting Maroons take the floor at 3 p.m. against Adamson University.