14 September 2013, 7:55 p.m. – THE UST Tigresses secured a Final Four ticket with an emphatic 84-62 victory against a hapless University of the Philippines squad in the UAAP women’s basketball tournament at the Mall of Asia Arena Saturday.
UST finished with an 8-6 win-loss card at third place behind National University and De La Salle University.
The Tigresses led by as much as 26, 73-47, early in fourth quarter.
UP tried to build momentum behind Antonia Wong in the third frame to cut the lead, 37-53, but consecutive unsportsmanlike fouls in a span of 10 seconds gave UST full control of the game.
In the second canto, the Tigresses used a balanced attack to pull away from the Lady Maroons. Marian Mejia’s teardrop shot pushed UST’s lead to 24, 45-21, with less than two minutes left in the quarter.
UST started strong, racing to a 15-3 lead behind Maica Cortes, who scored eight early points. The Tigresses led 20-7 after the first period.
Cortes, Kim Reyes and Lore Rivera all finished with 17 points to lead the semifinals-bound Tigresses.
Antonia Wong was the lone bright spot for UP, finishing with a game-high 35 points and 17 rebounds.
“I made them choose whether they wanted (to enter the Final Four) the easy or hard way, and they responded,” coach Chris Cantonjos said. “We didn’t want a quadruple tie.”
“If we will be up against La Salle (in the semifinals), we need to focus on our press breaks and zone defense since those were our problems last game,” added Cantonjos of a possible match-up with the Lady Archers. Paul Kennedy A. Lintag
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BOX SCORES:
UST 84 – Rivera, 17; Reyes, 17; Cortes, 17; Ong, 11; Felisarta, 6; Magdaluyo, 5; Mejia, 3; Andrade, 3; Mandilag, 2; Angeles, 2; Salvador, 1
UP 62 – Wong, 35; Daez, 7; Aliermo, 7; Furagganan, 5; Luna, 4; Salapong, 3, Isip, 1
Quarter scores: 20-7, 45-27, 67-43, 84-62
