LA SALLE secured the right to face seven-peat seeking National University in the Finals with a 74-69 victory over University of Santo Tomas in the UAAP women’s basketball tournament yesterday at the Mall of Asia Arena.

Bettina Binaohan scored two free throws to give the Lady Archers the upper hand at 71-69 and the Taft-based side put on the defensive clamps on the Tigresses in the final 31.3 seconds to prevail in the do-or-die contest.

It was a sorry loss for UST, which forced the game’s final deadlock at 69-69, on a Rocel Dionisio lay-up in the final 45 seconds only it could not get the needed breaks down the stretch.

Fina Niantcho had a double-double outing with 18 points, 12 rebounds, two steals and two blocks, Binaohan was also solid for La Salle with 17 points, 10 boards, two assists and two steals while Ameng Torres contributed 16 points, eight boards and four assists.

The Green Archers will face the Bulldogs in the best-of-three championship series starting at 11 a.m. on Wednesday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. La Salle, which last made it to the league’s biggest stage in 2016, ended NU’s historic 108-game winning streak with a 61-57 overtime win in the second round.

Agatha Bron led the Tigresses with 13 points while projected season MVP Eka Soriano chipped in 10 points, nine boards, six assists and three steals.

The scores:

DLSU (74) — Niantcho 18, Binaohan 17, Torres 16, Sario 12, Jimenez 5, Dalisay 3, Arciga 2, De La Paz 1, Camba 0, Ahmed 0, Espinas 0.
UST (69) — Bron 13, Soriano 10, Dionisio 9, Villasin 8, Tacatac 8, Pangilinan 8, Ambos 8, Serrano 3, Santos 2.
Quarterscores: 21-18, 38-34, 57-50, 74-69.

AUTHOR PROFILE

Theodore P. Jurado