The University of the Philippines (UP) Fighting Lady Maroons remain on the losing column as they drop a nail-biter 66-68 match against the University of the East (UE) Lady Warriors in the UAAP Season 82 Women’s Basketball Tournament, September 21, at Ynares Center Antipolo.
The Lady Maroons ended the first three quarters leading the Lady Warriors with high hopes of snapping their 34-game losing streak, but fell short in the fourth quarter to drop their 35th game.
Pesky Pesquera, Stiff Larrosa and Lulu Ordoveza combined for 51 points in a losing effort to carry the Diliman-based squad in their closest losing margin so far, trailing only by two points at the end of regulation.
An almost win
The Maroons opened the first quarter by converting points from the charity stripe, while Cindy Gonzales and Larrosa found their groove as they scored back-to-back buckets, 13-8.
The momentum kept the State U upbeat in the second frame to mount an impressive 10-point lead, 22-12, courtesy of Pesquera’s hot shooting.
To answer back, the Lady Warriors put on a show when Nins Cuadero and Jearzy Ganade led a 9-2 run to tie the game at 29 with 20 seconds left, but Ordoveza put UP on top at halftime by drawing a foul and shooting from the keyhole, 30-29.
State U started to pull away when Ordoveza scored from the field and Larrosa’s steal-and-score opened the third quarter, but the Lady Warriors’ offensive rebounds turned the tables around to snatch the lead, 39-46.
Riding the team captain Pesquera’s shoulders, the Lady Maroons crafted a 9-2 run to tie the end of third quarter at 48.
Meanwhile, the fourth quarter saw a neck and neck hustle between the two teams as they exchange lead and shoot baskets.
After a deadlock at 50, State U trailed by as much as four points before Larrosa and De Leon shoot hoops to arrive at another tie at 56. The Lady Warriors drew fouls, but Pesquera drained a three to set another deadlock at 59.
With only a minute left, the Recto-based squad hustled offensively to close the match at 66-68.
Silver lining
Despite their should-have-been first win since the past two seasons, the Lady Maroons were nothing but optimistic as they see the silver lining in this game.
As they improve their ball handling, the Lady Maroons committed their fewest turnover in the season so far, limiting it to only 20.
“Heartbreaking loss siya so medyo down yung spirits pero everyone is staying positive. We’re taking it one game at a time [and] we’re learning from this,” Pesquera said.
On what to expect on their next games, Pesquera believes that this game would be their foundation to fight.
“The good thing about this is we played well naman. Sana madala namin ito sa wednesday, sana confidence-booster. We’re resilient and we’re going to keep fighting,” she said.
The Lady Maroons will look to play with the same energy as they face Far Eastern University (FEU) on Sept. 25 at UST.
QUARTER SCORES: 13-8, 30-29, 48-48, 66-68
