MANILA -- National University opened its bid for an eighth straight UAAP women's basketball crown with a comfortable 77-57 victory over Ateneo de Manila University, Sunday at the UST Quadricentennial Pavilion.

It was a wire-to-wire triumph for the Lady Bulldogs in their first assignment of the Season 86 women's basketball tournament. They also forced the Blue Eagles into 26 turnovers -- seven of which came from senior guard Jhazmin Joson.

Crucially for the defending champions, they kept reigning Rookie of the Year Kacey dela Rosa in check. Dela Rosa made just seven points on five field goal attempts and fouled out with still two minutes and 21 seconds left in the third quarter.

"It's always tough to play a combo of Dela Rosa and Joson knowing for a fact that they gained a lot of experience playing for the national team," said NU head coach Aris Dimaunahan. "Our main focus today was for those two guys and some of their supporting cast to be limited."

"I thought we did a great job as a team defending them and eventually getting the win," he added.

The Lady Bulldogs, who led by as much as 14 points in the first half, extended their lead to as wide as 72-47 thanks to Camille Clarin’s three-point shot with four minutes and 38 seconds remaining in the game.

"We had 25 points off their 26 turnovers so that was a testament of how pesky we were on the defensive side and we took advantage of them turning the ball over and then we turned it into gold," said Dimaunahan.

Ann Pingol and Clarin led NU with 11 points each, with the former also contributing seven rebounds and four assists. All but two of the Lady Bulldogs managed to score points against the Blue Eagles.

NU's next match will be against Far Eastern University this Wednesday at 3 p.m. in the Adamson Gym.

Sarah Makanjuola led Ateneo with 13 points and 10 rebounds, followed by Junize Calago’s 11 points and seven rebounds. Dela Rosa grabbed eight rebounds while Joson contributed five points and three assists.

Ateneo will look to bounce back against archrival De La Salle University at 11 a.m. in the Adamson Gym.

The Scores:

NU (77) - Pingol 11, Clarin 11, Canuto 9, Surada 8, Fabruada 7, Talas 6, Bartolo 5, Cayabyab 5, Konateh 5, Solis 4, Betanio 2, Ico 2, Magbanua 2, Alcantara 0, Alterado 0.

Ateneo (57) - Makanjuola 13, Calago 11, Dela Rosa 7, Joson 5, Villacruz 5, Solis 5, Cancio 5, Eufemiano 2, Mataga 2, Angala 1, Fetalvero 1, Nieves 0, Gastador 0.

Quarterscores: 19-13, 36-25, 58-41, 77-57.