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Ateneo senior Jhazmin Joson in action against UE. UAAP Media.
MANILA, Philippines -- Ateneo de Manila University punched the last ticket to the UAAP Season 85 women's basketball tournament after defeating also-ran University of the East (UE), 65-51, Wednesday at the Quadricentennial Pavilion in Manila.
This is the first time the Blue Eagles made the postseason since Season 78 -- where they also made the finals and lost to National University in a sweep.
The win over UE gave the Blue Eagles a 7-6 record, putting them out of reach of the University of the Philippines (5-8) in the standings.
"Sobrang happy. We're a program in its infancy stage, getting sila Kaycee [Dela Rosa], Ylyssa [Eufemiano], sila Sarah [Makajuola]. It's a pretty new team -- wala na sila[Melissa] Newsome, sila Trina [Gutingco], sila [Hazel] Yam. It was one of our goals to make the Final 4 even though we're a young team… In a way, a little small history para sa mga girls natin today," said first-year Blue Eagles head coach LA Mumar, who replaced Kat Quimpo in 2020.
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Ateneo dominated on both ends in the first half, going 15-of-30 from the field to build a 42-20 advantage. Eufemiano, a rookie out of Our Lady of Fatima University, scored 16 of her 23 points in the first 20 minutes of the contest. She also ended up with 10 rebounds.
The Blue Eagles' lead grew to as high as 26 points in the third frame, giving Mumar the luxury to play his third stringers in the final stanza.
Dela Rosa also tallied a double-double for Ateneo with 17 points, 13 rebounds, and four blocks while senior Jhazmin Joson scattered 13 points, eight rebounds, five assists, and four steals.
"It's really a roller-coaster season for us. We're a young team. We had a medyo weird schedule. We would always play 1-2-3, sunud-sunod, no? So, medyo hindi kami makalusot sa kanila, so sometimes nada-down sila, tapos umaakyat," shared Mumar.
"But I really appreciate the girls, they trust me and the coaching staff. And they believe what we teach them and what we tell them," he added.
UE remained winless in 13 games.
Joyce Terrinal was the lone double-digit scorer for UE with 15 points. Kamba Kone added 16 rebounds with nine points but shot just 4-of-19 from the field.
The scores:
Ateneo 65 - Eufemiano 23, Dela Rosa 17, Joson 13, Calago 4, Villacruz 3, Miranda 2, Nieves 2, Cruza 1, Penaranda 0, Fetalvero 0, Makanjuola 0, Perez 0, Angala 0.
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