By Joaqui Flores
The best players rise up during crunch time.
Trisha Piatos sinks in a crucial left baseline jumper with 2.7 ticks left in regulation as the Lady Archers notch the first FilOil Preseason Championship with a gritty 53-51 win over the Lady Tamaraws earlier today at the FilOil Flying V Arena.
“Lately we have been experiencing a lot of tight games. It’s a good learning experience for us,” shared head coach Tyrone Bautista after the game.
Piatos scored a team-high 16 points and grabbed 3 rebounds while Cass Santos had a complementary performance with 9 points and 9 rebounds.
In addition, Ara Abaca was hailed Finals MVP and also garnered Mythical Five honors.
“It is nice to win the FilOil [title] but at the end of the day this is just part of the preparation for the biggest tournament of them all. We learned a lot here, we gained a lot of experience and we were able to see all our deficiencies and weaknesses,” added Bautista.
On the other hand, Camille Sambile led FEU with 20 points and 9 rebounds while Vangie Soriano added 9 points and 11 rebounds.
The road to the crown was definitely sealed after Aba drove to the lane for a go-ahead layup with 1:55 in regulation for a 49-44 lead. FEU then countered back with a late 7-2 run to knot the score at 51-all after a three-pointer from Soriano which led DLSU to call timeout.
After the timeout, Piatos successfully deceived her opponents after a faking a corner trey leading to her dagger left baseline jumper for a 53-51 lead with 2.7 left in regulation. FEU tried a last ditch attempt to force the game into overtime but Sambile’s swift layup clanked of the rim to end the game.
After the game, Coach Bautista praised his team for their big improvement in the preseason, saying, “I love the progress and the players are more matured and the rookies growing. It was a good experience but again can’t stop getting better and improving right now.”
With the win, the Lady Archers avenge their loss to the Lady Tams in the Father Martin’s Cup finals last Sunday.
The scores:
DLSU (53) – Piatos 16, Santos 9, Abaca 8, Corcuera 6, Ramos 4, Melendres 3, Claro 3, Garcia 2, M. Ong 2, Scott 0, Vergara 0, Revillosa 0, Oyao 0.
FEU (51) – Sambile 20, Soriano 9, Siat 8, Gesalan 8, Valenzona 4, Tanaman 2, Gabriel 0, Chan 0, Albano 0, Arellado 0, Castro 0. Quarter scores: 8-14, 28-22, 43-37, 53-51.