NU Lady Bulldogs celebrate after escaping the UST Tigresses in Game 1 of the UAAP Season 87 women’s basketball Finals.–MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines — National University overcame a double-digit deficit to escape defending champion University of Santo Tomas, 72-71, in Game 1 of the UAAP Season 87 women’s basketball Finals on Sunday at Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Cielo Pagdulagan made the game-winning layup with 50 seconds left capping the Lady Bulldogs’ comeback from 14 down in the third quarter.

“We know for a fact that it’s a short series. The mindset of our team was very important to get Game 1. We should not look at the results right away, let the results take care of itself. Our mindset was to play the game possession by possession,” said NU coach Aris Dimaunahan, whose squad goes for the title clincher in Game 2 on Wednesday at Mall of Asia Arena.

NU coach Aris Dimaunahan after taking Game 1. #UAAPSeason87 @INQUIRERSports pic.twitter.com/FwB8TeuUWM

— Lance Agcaoili (@LanceAgcaoilINQ) December 8, 2024

“For some reason, in the first half we had 22 turnovers. That’s very uncharacteristic for us. I’m glad and happy for our players. Nobody veered away from what we do, especially in the second half. It’s a hell of game for both teams. It’s good for the league and for fans that women’s basketball is turning out to be like this way. That means the level in both teams is leveling up.”

Tacky Tacatac missed a contested triple from the left corner that would’ve won it for the Tigresses, who held off the Adamson Lady Falcons, 71-59, on Wednesday in the final game of the stepladder semifinals.

Karl Ann Pingol delivered 18 points, nine rebounds, and three steals for NU while Camille Clarin made stops against UST star Kent Pastrana and finished with 12 points, four rebounds, two assists and two steals to atone for her seven turnovers in the first half.

Clarin prevented Pastrana from executing the same play that completed UST’s magical title run in Game 3 of Season 86 last year.

“That play by play on that last possession, one year and two days ago, it was packaged delivered by Kent Jane. That line has stuck with me for so long and it was the exact same possession this year. And you’re telling me I stopped her? 22 points, six rebounds? Kent is amazing. There’s no stopping Kent. But because my teammates are there, because they push me so hard, I know I’m not gonna let that happen again,” said Clarin. ” If she was scoring 22 points, she wasn’t gonna score 24. That’s all I cared about. It was that last possession. Because that was the possession that’s gonna win the game, and I made sure that no matter what, she was not gonna score. The ball fell in our favor and I guess you do learn from your mistakes.”

READ: NU Lady Bulldogs sweep their way back to UAAP Finals

The Lady Bulldogs, who still won despite turning the ball over 31 times, came out rusty after coming off a 14-day hiatus and trailed 51-37 with seven minutes to play in the third quarter before unleashing an 11-0 run bridging the third and fourth quarters.

It was a back-and-forth affair in the fourth quarter with Brigette Santos giving UST a 71-70 lead late before Pagdulagan put NU ahead for good.

“Out of Cielo’s nine points today, that last two was the biggest one. We needed a basket and we got seniors inside the court, but I always trust each and every one of our players, and we gave the ball to Cielo with a great pass from Karl Ann Pingol,” said Dimaunahan. 

“Everybody did their job on that last play. And eventually, it was a clear lane for Cielo to make the basket, again we always trust our team our players to execute no matter if they succeed or they fail, it doesn’t matter.”

Pastrana led UST with a game-high 22 points on top of six rebounds, three steals, and two assists, while Santos added 12 points.

The Scores:

NU (72) – Pingol 18, Clarin 12, Surada 9, Pagdulagan 9, Fabruada 8, Betanio 6, Konateh 6, Cayabyab 3, Canuto 1, Villanueva 0, Solis 0.

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UST (71) – Pastrana 22, Santos 12, Tacatac 8, Soriano 7, Maglupay 7, Ambos 7, Bron 6, Sierba 2, Danganan 0, Serrano 0.

Quarterscores: 16-26, 37-46kabibe game, 57-57, 72-71.

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