By Jerome Lagunzad
University of Santo Tomas got off to a strong start but still needed to avert a late collapse in pulling off a 63-53 victory over University of the East yesterday to force a sudden death showdown in their stepladder semifinals duel in the UAAP Season 80 women’s basketball tournament at the Mall of Asia Arena.
Anjel Anies came off the bench and sizzled with a game-high 21 points, spiked by four triples, while Jem Angeles flirted with a triple-double with 12 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists as the third-ranked Tigresses disarmed the second-seeded Lady Warriors with a twice-to-beat edge.
The victory, which came on the heels of an 86-72 win over No. 4 host Far Eastern University over the weekend, enabled UST to force a do-or-die match with UE on Saturday, with the winner earning the right to face three-time defending champion National University in a best-of-three finals.
“We survived two do-or-die games and I hope the girls will pull through on Saturday,” said UST coach Haydee Ong, who also got 12 points and nine boards from Sai Larosa.
Ruthlaine Tacula had an all-around performance of 14 points, seven rebounds, three assists and three steals while Love Sto. Domingo chipped in 12 points and 12 boards but UE struggled to dug itself out of an 13-31 deficit in the second canto.