ON this side of the court, the National University Lady Bulldogs are still the queens.
NU re-established itself as the bar in the UAAP women's basketball, making it five straight titles with a 67-61 trouncing of Far Eastern University, their 80th straight win, on Wednesday at Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The team coached by Patrick Aquino stamped their class with the dominant sweep of the Lady Tamaraws in the Season 81 women’s basketball finals.
Jack Animam had 15 points, 21 rebounds, four blocks, two assists and a steal to be hailed as the Finals MVP.
Rhena Itesi also powered NU with 17 points and 10 rebounds, converting two putbacks that halted FEU's rally from 23-points down and made it 60-47 with 5:43 remaining.
The Lady Bulldogs looked poised to break the game wide open, using a 24-4 blast bridging the first two periods to turn a slim 15-14 lead to a commanding 39-18 edge at the 2:17 mark of the second quarter.
"Wow. Amazing," said Aquino. "Winning a fifth championship and 80-0 is amazing and I'm just happy to be part of it and I hope we can continue this."
Animam chimed in, "Sobrang saya lang. Every year, may iba't iba kaming struggles and every championship, meron kaming iba't ibang stories to tell. Lahat ng sacrifices namin, nagbunga at sobrang sarap. I'm on cloud nine. Sabi nga ni coach, amazing."
Graduating playmaker Ria Nabalan tallied 11 points, three rebounds and three assists as she capped off her collegiate career without tasting a loss.
"Masaya na malungkot. Masaya ako na naging part ako ng history at malungkot na di ko na makakasama ang teammates ko, na hindi na ako makakasama sa six-peat sana," she said.
Kaye Pingol added eight points, nine rebounds, three assists and two steals, while Jeanne Camelo scored eight.
Fatima Quiapo led FEU with 15 points and 10 rebounds as Mythical Team member Clare Castro was held to just six points and 13 boards.
The scores:
NU 67 - Itesi 17, Animam 15, Nabalan 11, Pingol 8, Camelo 8, Del Carmen 7, Canuto 1, Fabruada 0, Layug 0, Cacho 0, Goto 0.
FEU 61 - Quiapo 15, Adriano 9, Mamaril 8, Bahuyan 7, Castro 6, Taguiam 6, Antiola 6, Bastatas 2, Payadon 2, Vidal 0.
Quarterscores: 18-16; 41-25; 54-44; 67-61.
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