La Salle, Ateneo cagebelles deliver

MANILA, Philippines — Amid a raging typhoon, La Salle and Ateneo escaped with narrow victories against separate counterparts before the cancellation of afternoon games yesterday in the UAAP Season 85 women’s basketball tournament at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

The Lady Archers tamed the Santo Tomas Golden Tigresses, 67-60, while the Blue Eagles clipped the Lady Falcons, 76-72, as both teams solidified their spots in the Final Four starting the crucial second round.

Joehanna Arciga and Lee Sario scored 14 points and 11 points, respectively, for La Salle, which avenged its 71-57 loss to Santo Tomas in the first round for a tie with the latter at second spot with 6-2 card behind unbeaten National U (7-0).

“We needed to bounce back from our first-round loss. We corrected our mistakes. We needed to really want it this time around to get that win from UST,” said La Salle mentor Cholo Villanueva.

Later, super rookie Kacey dela Rosa led the way with a mammoth double-double of 23 points and 23 rebounds plus two blocks as Ateneo soared to its fourth straight win for a 5-3 card at No. 4.

“We’re very thankful we were able to survive Adamson. Again, we’re a young team, we’re still learning,” said Blue Eagles coach LA Mumar.

Rocel Dionisio (17) paced the Golden Tigresses while Victoria Adeshina’s 27 markers went for naught in Adamson’s fourth consecutive loss to stay at sixth place with a 2-6 slate.

Meanwhile, in men’s badminton, NU trounced Adamson, 4-1, to fire off its seven-peat championship bid on a bright note at the Centro Atletico Badminton Center in Quezon City.

Ateneo and UP scored similar results against Santo Tomas and La Salle, respectively.