Lady Tams rout Archers, battle Falcons in final

MANILA, Philippines – Far Eastern University arranged a title rematch with Adamson as the Lady Tams shellacked La Salle, 65-35, yesterday in sudden death in the UAAP Season 73 women’s basketball tourney Final Four at The Arena in San Juan.

The Lady Tams rode on the exploits of RP mainstays Allana Lim (24 points, nine rebounds, four assists and two blocks) and Raiza Palmera (14 points, five rebounds, five assists and two steals) in running away with the win and the second finals slot.

FEU, the 2009 runner-up, and defending champion Adamson, which qualified for the finals first after dismantling semis rival University of Santo Tomas, 92-79, last Saturday, start their title showdown on Saturday at the Araneta Coliseum.

Coming off a 61-64 loss that forced the KO match, the Lady Tams came into the match with much more fire, building a 27-15 lead after two quarters and stretching it to 46-24 by the third before pulling away with 30-plus leads all throughout the fourth.

“We were tight in the last game, we were then so eager to make the finals without focusing on the game for four full quarters. We remedied that this time,” said FEU coach Michael Oliver, who steered FEU to its third straight finals appearance, its fourth in the last five years.

So overpowering were the Lady Tams that Lim and Palmera’s combined output of 38 points bettered the tally of the entire DLSU squad (35).

Only Aracelie Abaca (13 points and 12 rebounds) managed to put up big numbers for La Salle, which was held to a 0-of-10 three-point shooting after making 5-of-10 the last time.