STANDING ATOP bracket B, the Faculty of Arts and Letters (AB) Women’s Basketball team will advance to the quarterfinals of this year’s Thomasian Goodwill Games after trouncing the College of Rehabilitation Sciences (CRS), 54-39.
Alaina Dimdam once again showed off her shooting prowess after scoring 13 of her game-high 23 points in the first quarter, including three buckets from beyond the arc.
Trisha Angela Dy and Maria Carmina Lagrisola led CRS’ assault but they trailed by four points at the end of the first frame, 19-14.
AB continued to dominate the pace of the ballgame as it tightened its defense, forcing CRS to commit turnovers.
The triumvirate of Dimdam, Koleen Salita, and Lara Quicho added 11 points for AB while CRS only managed to score a point coming from Dy’s bonus. The girls in blue and white ended the first half on a high note, 30-15.
Determined to stage a comeback, CRS improved its offense and defense with Dy and Princess Anne Eunice Bermio’s inside scoring early in the third quarter.
Dimdam and Quicho struggled in the third frame after missing several shots. It was Jonne Senga’s last-minute fastbreak and-one that further widened AB’s edge, 42-27.
The Dimdam-Quicho duo eventually regained momentum in the last quarter, shooting lay-ups and a trey that put the dagger on their opponent, 54-39.
Team captain Rica Young said the team would review their set plays and condition each player’s mental toughness in preparation for their game against the Faculty of Engineering on March 7 at the P. Noval Court.
“We’ll make sure [that] we’ll pass through Engineering. Natalo kami nung elims and quarters last year sa kanila dahil hindi namin na-execute nang maayos ‘yung mga game plays. Ngayon mas prepared kami to face them again on Monday,” Young said.
AB, with a 3-0 win-loss record in the tourney’s elimination round, also defeated the College of Fine Arts and Design and College of Nursing. F GAEA KATREENA C. CABICO
