The NU Lady Bulldogs celebrate after completing an elimination round sweep of the UAAP Season 87 women's basketball tournament by beating FEU, November 23, 2024 at the FilOil EcoOil Centre in San Juan. UAAP MediaMANILA -- For the tenth consecutive season, the National University Lady Bulldogs will play for the UAAP women's basketball crown.
National U dominated Far Eastern University, 86-58, on Saturday morning at the FilOil EcoOil Centre to complete a sweep of the UAAP Season 87 elimination round and earn an outright Finals berth.
There, they will try to reclaim the women's basketball crown after ceding it to University of Santo Tomas last season in a three-game thriller.
This is the first time that the Lady Bulldogs have swept the eliminations -- and in the process, forced a stepladder semifinals -- since Season 82. Losses to La Salle in the Season 85 second round and to the University of the Philippines in the Season 86 first round allowed for a traditional Final 4.
"The goal is to have the opportunity to go back to the Finals and with this win, we finally got it but the work doesn't stop there," said NU head coach Aris Dimaunahan.
"It just gave us the opportunity to be there sa stage na ginugusto namin para maituloy namin yung goal namin of winning another championship," he stressed.
READ: UAAP: Clarin, NU women escape UP's upset bid
NU raced to a 16-0 start and led 29-10 after the opening frame, never allowing FEU to gain a rhythm.
In a display of their squad depth, all 14 players who saw action scored at least two points, with Cielo Pagdulagan firing 11 to lead the way. Jill Talas added nine points, the duo of Aloha Betanio and Angel Surada got eight apiece, while the quartet of Daniella Alterado, Pringle Fabruada, Jainaba Konateh, and Nicole Pring had seven points each.
"Masaya kami pero not too high, not too low. Lagi kaming nireremind ng coaches na job is not done. Thank God nasweep namin at nakabalik ulit kami sa championship. Ilang months namin hinintay ‘to simula last year pagkatalo," said Surada.
Ball movement was key to NU's triumph, making 32 assists out of its 33 made field goals.
FEU finished its campaign at seventh place with a 3-11 record - the same exact card it had last season.
Victoria Pasilang led the Lady Tamaraws in their final battle this season with 18 points and five rebounds while MJ Manguiat added 15 points but committed 11 turnovers.
The Scores:
NU 86 - Pagdulagan 11, Talas 9, Betanio 8, Surada 8, Alterado 7, Fabruada 7, Konateh 7, Pring 7, Pingol 6, Clarin 5, Sois 3, Villanueva 3, Ico 3, Canuto 2.
FEU 58 - Pasilang 18, Manguiat 15, Salvani 8, Nagma 6, Villanueva 5, Ong 4, Gavaran 2, Lopez 0, Paras 0, Dela Torre 0.
Quarterscores: 29-10, 44-30, 62-43, 86-58.