UAAP women’s hoops: UP, Ateneo hack out wins

MANILA, Philippines — The UP Fighting Maroons remained unblemished in UAAP Season 86 after a gutsy 73-69 overtime win over the UST Growling Tigresses at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City on Saturday.

Now at 5-0, UP thus matched its best start since 2008, and is the only undefeated team in the tournament.

Paul Ramos’ wards dug deep to regain their bearings after UST took a 10-point lead in the third quarter, with Kent Pastrana and Tantoy Ferrer contributing big for the España-based squad.

Led by the heroics of Christie Bariquit and Louna Ozar, the Maroons trailed only by two, 45-47, heading into the final period.

They then forced UST into uncharacteristic miscues late in regulation as they held on and went to overtime, 63-all.

In the extra period, Kaye Pesquera sparked the cavalry with her 3-point shooting, finishing the game with a total of 17 big points on 4-of-6 shooting from beyond the arc.

She took Player of the Game honors.

But she was hardly a one-woman show as Ozar and Bariquit chipped in with 16 and 15 markers, respectively. Bariquit was also a whopping +20 in efficiency, as she helped UP keep afloat when the Tigresses were threatening to pull away.

Favour Onoh, though limited in scoring, chipped in to the victory with nine points and 17 boards.

After the game, Ramos kept himself and his wards focused on the task at hand, even as they now have two big fish — NU and UST, under their belts in the opening round.

“I think that’s the beauty about our season this year, and our preparation. We came into our season focused on just fighting our battles, one game at a time. We don’t care about the records that we’re breaking,” he said.

Pastrana’s good game of 19 points, four rebounds, one assist, three steals and one block was for naught as UST skidded to their second loss in a row.

Ferrer had a double-double of 14 points, 11 boards, five assists and five steals.

Earlier, the Ateneo Blue Eagles kept themselves among the top teams in the standings with a 72-64 win over the FEU Lady Tamaraws.

They improved to 4-1 by shrugging off a slow start that had them trailing by as much as 13 points.

In the third quarter, the LA Mumar-coached Blue Eagles outscored the Lady