Lady Archers cop third UAAP title

Three titles and still counting.

De La Salle completed an amazing three-peat as it scored a 74-69 victory over a hard-fighting University of the Philippines yesterday at the conclusion of the UAAP women’s basketball competition at the Ateneo Gym.

Reigning MVP Roussel Ocampo led all scorers with 31 points but it was Regina Velarde who delivered the points that mattered most to lift the Lady Archers to the win.

"We played a team game but Roussel and Regina were the ones who scored the crucial points for us," said La Salle coach Juno Sauler.

Velarde, who sported a hairdo ala Allen Iverson, sank nine of 10 free throws in the fourth quarter that defused every comeback launched by the Lady Maroons. She was later named the best player of the best-of-three title series.

It was also a fitting finish for the sweet-shooting Ocampo, who bounced back from so-so stint in Games 1 and 2 when she was limited to just an average of 10 points a game.

UP, which lost the opener, 53-56, before bouncing back in Game 2 with a lopsided 59-40 triumph, led only thrice in the match, the last when Maria Camille Dowling buried a three-pointer from the left baseline for a 56-52 upperhand at the start of the final period.

But the Lady Archers regained the initiative when Ocampo found her shooting form with a little over two and a half minutes to go, posting a six-point edge at 69-63.

Dowling and Marison Mendoza, who combined for 42 points, tried to put up one final stand but Velarde took the fight out of the Lady Maroons with crucial free throws.