The way out of the tiger’s den remains elusive for the Fighting Maroons.
The University of the Philippines (UP) Women’s Basketball Team (WBT) failed to break free from the tigers’ claws, absorbing another loss against the University of Santo Tomas (UST) Growling Tigresses, 63-95, on Wednesday, Oct. 28, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Still haunted by a winless stretch against the España-based squad since their Season 86 Final Four matchup, the Fighting Maroons remain unable to decode their first-round foes.
Searching for an escape
State U faced early trouble as UST unleashed a 10-0 run midway through the opening period, before Louna Ozar put the Diliman-based squad on the scoreboard with a layup off an assist from foreign student-athlete Blessing Francis.
Scoring only from inside the arc and the charity stripe, the Fighting Maroons found themselves on the chase and trailing by 16 points, 9-25.
The maroon shirts remained scoreless during the first three minutes of the second frame, allowing the Golden Tigresses to extend its lead to 21.
Ozar once again took charge with eight consecutive points in an attempt to catch up before Rica Torres completed the 10-2 run to trim the gap, 19-32.
Despite the offensive effort, the Fighting Maroons struggled to keep pace as UST mounted a run of its own, with team captain Brig Santos leading the 14-0 run to leave State U down by as many as 33 points, 21-54, by halftime.
Combined efforts from Kennan Ka and Ozar mounted an 8-0 run early in the penultimate period to put the Altamirano-coached squad at 29-54.
Although the maroon shirts’ 22-point output outscored the Growling Tigresses’ 18 points in the third quarter, UST’s dominant first-half performance left UP trailing, 43-72, heading into the payoff period.
The Fighting Maroons traded baskets with the yellow shirts to keep pace in the final quarter, but the deficit proved insurmountable as the España-based squad stretched its lead to 35, its largest of the match at 50-85.
In the closing minutes, Ka, Achrissa Maw and Camille Nolasco continued searching for a way out of the Growling Tigresses’ defensive trap, mounting a final 11-point push to cut the gap before eventually bowing to UST.
Ozar kept State U afloat with 16 markers, three rebounds and four assists in the loss.
On the other baseline, center Oma Onianwa topscored the yellow shirts with 20 points while Santos and Karylle Sierba chipped in 18 markers apiece to remain undefeated.
The Fighting Maroons will aim to return to the winning column and avenge their first-round loss against the Adamson Lady Falcons on Wednesday, Nov. 4, at the same venue.
WBT QUARTER SCORES: 9-25, 21-54, 43-72, 65-93
