By Dugout Philippines
PASAY--A resilient Ateneo side won a fourth straight do-or-die game, escaping with a 55-53 squeaker over second seed De La Salle on Wednesday in the UAAP Season 78 women's basketball step-ladder semifinals at the Mall of Asia Arena.
Danica Jose could only muster six points, but her free throw in the final 5.2 seconds was enough for the Lady Eagles to extend their season. She also grabbed 19 rebounds despite playing in pain.
"She was nursing a sprain from our last game (against University of the East). We have to keep her minutes down and hopefully she will bounce back in the next game," said Ateneo coach Erika Dy on Jose.
The rubber match is slated at 10 a.m. on Saturday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum, with the winner facing defending champion National University in the title round slated on Saturday. The Lady Bulldogs jumped straight to the Finals after completing a 14-game elimination round sweep.
Before pulling through against the Lady Archers, the fourth-ranked Lady Eagles staved off elimination by beating Adamson University in the final day of the second round, University of Santo Tomas in the playoff for the last semis berth and the Lady Warriors in last Saturday's first step-ladder.
Hazelle Yam led Ateneo with 19 points while Jolina Go added 11 points and four boards.
La Salle tried to send the game in overtime in the final possession, but missed all of its three attempts, including a putback by Alyanna Ong at the buzzer.
Snow Peñaranda had 12 points and nine rebounds while Ara Abaca came through with a double-double effort of 11 points and 15 boards for the Lady Archers, who lost back-to-back for the first time this season.
Box Scores:
Ateneo 55-Yam 19, Go 11, Javier 6, Jose 6, Tomita 6, Guytingco 4, Aseron 3, Buendia 0, Deacon 0, Nitorreda 0
La Salle 53-Peñaranda 12, Abaca 11, Roxas 7, Vergara 6, Castillo 4, Claro 4, Dagdagan 4, Ong 4, Revillosa 2, Arciga 0, Gonzales 0, Vela 0
Quarterscores: 11-16, 25-36, 47-44, 55-53
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