Lady Tamaraws rallies past Lady Archers to clinch Finals berth #UAAP77
By Yanzi Eco
September 27, 2014
The FEU Lady Tamaraws made a huge rally in the 2nd half to beat the defending champs DLSU Lady Archers 81-80 in a do-or-die game that earned them a finals spot in the women’s basketball tournament of the UAAP.
The Lady Tams outlasted the Lady Archers in an overtime win despite trailing by as much as 11 points in the first half.
With the heroics of April Siat and the streaking Jacqueline Tanaman, FEU slowly caught up with DLSU in the last 2 quarters and eventually in overtime.
But DLSU didn’t give up easily and kept the game within striking distance courtesy of the hot-shooting duo of Tricia Piatos and Alyanna Ong who made their presence felt late in the 2nd half.
DLSU made a late run in the 4th quarter but FEU fought back with a layup by April Siat that tied the game 71-all with 9 seconds left and eventually sent the game to overtime.
Crucial baskets by Siat sealed the win for the Lady Tamaraws scoring 18 of her 24 points in the last 15 minutes of the game. She also added 12 rebounds and 2 steals. Jacqueline Tanaman also contributed 16 points, while center Claire Castro added 16 points and 13 rebounds.
Tricia Piatos and Camille Claro had 16 points a-piece for DLSU. Alyanna Ong meanwhile delivered with 15 points and 7 rebounds.
FEU will be facing the thrice-to-beat NU Lady Bulldogs in a stepladder virtual best-of-five Finals series that will start on Wednesday.
The scores:
FEU (81) – Siat 24, Tanaman 16, Castro 16, Valenzona, 11, Arellano 6, Ventura 4, Chan 2, Baldonado 2, Gabriel 0
DLSU (80) – Piatos 18, Claro 18, Ong, A. 15, Santos 10, Ong, M. 8, Mellendres 6, Garcia 2, Vergara 2, Concuera, 1, Oyao 0, Castillo 0
Quarterscores: 14-15, 30-36, 44-50, 71-71, OT 81-80.
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