LA SALLE carved out an 81-73 victory over Adamason and arranged a Finals duel with unbeaten Far Eastern University in the UAAP Season 75 women’s basketball tournament Wednesday at the Filoil Flying V Arena in San Juan.
After trailing by as many as 15, the Lady Falcons, behind Snow Peñaranda, was able to cut down the deficit to 63-70, with 4:08 remaining.
But Trisha Piatos hit a three-pointer for the Lady Archers to take a 75-65 advantage at the 2:30 mark.
La Salle last made it to the championship round in 2002, where the Taft lady cagers completed a ‘four-peat’ with a powerhouse line-up led by twins Jessica and Jessamine Manalo and Ginnie Velarde.
The Lady Archers and the back-to-back seeking Lady Tamaraws begin their Finals showdown on Sunday.
FEU holds a tremendous ‘thrice-to-beat’ incentive after sweeping all of its 14 games in the eliminations.
Aracelie Abaca, who placed second behind Allana Lim in the season MVP race, finished with a double-double of 20 points and 18 rebounds on top of eight assists, two steals and two blocks, for La Salle.
Piatos had 17 points and five assists, while center Kady Wilson chipped in 16 points, eight boards and four blocks.
Peñaranda paced the Lady Falcons with 28 points and 10 boards, while Princess Cochico contributed 14 points and 15 rebounds.
Adamson will miss the Finals for the first time since 2008.
Also on Sunday, juniors titleholder National University and FEU-Diliman begin their best-of-three titular showdown.
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