Reigning champion University of Santo Tomas lived up to its lofty billing as it whipped Ateneo, 77-54, in the UAAP Season 87 women’s basketball tournament at the Smart Araneta Coliseum Wednesday, Sept. 11.

Kent Pastrana spearheaded the Growling Tigresses’ strong opening quarter then eventually led by as many as 22 points and also wasted Kacey Dela Rosa’s double-double performance for the Lady Eagles.

Pastrana, last season’s Athlete of the Year, showed brilliance anew as she scattered 20 points, eight rebounds, two assists and three steals while Ana Tacatao, Angelika Soriano and Amby Ambos listed 14, 12, and 10, respectively.

Dela Rosa finished as the lone double-digit scorer for Ateneo as she dazzled with 22 points and 20 rebounds as the Katipunan-based team fell to 1-1 in the standings.

UST, on the other hand, notched its second win to share the top spot with Adamson.

“As they expecting me to lead, syempre mas kailangan ma-set kaagad namin ang tone and ‘yon nga ma-lead ng maayos ‘yong team,” said Pastrana.

Meanwhile, Adamson (2-0) leaned in its second half surge and balanced attacks to overcome La Salle (0-2), 65-54. 

The Lady Falcons created enough separation – thanks to Elaine Etang and the support from her teammates heading into the final quarter.

Etang topscored with 15 points on top of five rebounds and five steals while Kat Alogo and Crisnalyn Padilla backstopped her by adding 12 and 9 points, respectively. 

Lee Sario made a huge impact for the Lady Archers off her 12 points, eight rebounds and four assists while Pat Mendoza chalked up 10 in a losing cause.

Earlier in the boys category, La Salle (2-0) remained perfect after beating Adamson (0-2), 97-82, while UST (1-1) dismantled Ateneo (1-1), 100-77.

The scores:

UST (77) – Pastrana 20, Tacatac 14, Soriano 12, Ambos 10, Bron 4, Relliquette 4, Sierba 4, Dionisio 3, N. Danganan 2, Serrano 2, Pineda 2, Santos 0, Maglupay 0, Amatong 0, Pescador 0.
Ateneo (54) – Dela Rosa 22, Oani 8, Calago 8, Makanjuola 7, Nieves 4, Villacruz 2, Aguirre 2, Cancio 1, Batongbakal 0, Eufemanio 0, Fetalvero 0, Salgado 0, Angala 0, Olivenza 0, Lopez 0.
Quarterscores: 32-20, 44-34, 63-48, 77-54