De La Salle Lipa (DLSL) Lady Chevrons overpowered San Beda College – Alabang (SBC-Alabang) Red Lionesses, 90-47, in game one of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA-South) Basketball Women’s semi-final round at San Pablo Colleges Tuesday, Jan. 30.
Marinel Faye Magpantay was DLSL’s top scorer, catching fire during the third quarter where she gained 14 of her 27 points for the team.
Along with Magpantay, the Lipa-based squad’s firepower did not waver as they launched blow-by-blow combination plays and fastbreaks from Merry Maghirang, Josel Bonifacio and Jhasmine Laylo.
In the last minutes of the first half, Ferdie Allaine De Guzman scored back-to-back baskets, ballooning a lead 23-point lead for the Lady Chevrons.
The ladies in green proved their supremacy all throughout the game as they ruled the hard court with the tight defense of Abigael Aranas and De Guzman on the backcourt while Bonifacio, Maghirang and Patrizia Clarisse Castillo protected the front end of the paint, keeping SBC at bay.
However, foul trouble lead Lasallians to lose one cager during fourth quarter as Aranas graduated due to her sturdy defense. But even with numerous trips to the line, the Red Lionesses were not able to convert free throws into points as they missed 24 shots out of 40 attempts.
Meanwhile, in the last quarter of the regulation, Allen Punzalan took over of the offensive end as she razzle dazzled her defenders with her drives and layups. With her performance in the last quarter, SBC’s defense continued to crumble making way for Punzalan’s assists to Magpantay and Maghirang.
“Sobrang binigay namin yung best namin kasi ‘do or die’ game yun. Sobrang na-challenge kami na patunayan sa lahat na every training namin ay worth it,” Magpantay said.
DLSL will face Emilio Aguinaldo College – Cavite for Game 2 of the semi-finals on Sunday, Feb. 4.
NCAA is an annual tournament of selected participating schools. This year’s host is San Pablo Colleges in San Pablo City, Laguna.
Box scores:
DLSL: Magpantay 27, Punzalan 19, Laylo 13, Maghirang 10, Bonifacio 8, De Guzman 7, Aranas 4, Castillo 2.
SBC-Alabang: Delos Reyes 16, Guiang 13, Espinosa 11, Jonson 4, Omodera 2, Dulguime 1.
