National University maintained its unblemished 3x3 basketball record since it was first played in UAAP Season 80, going 4-0 on Day 1 of Season 84 women's tournament, Thursday at CaSoBe Resort here.
The Lady Bulldogs, who stretched their 3x3 winning streak to 16 games, bucked a slow start in their first game of the day against University of Santo Tomas, 13-9.
And it was all NU after that, clobbering Far Eastern University (15-5), University of the Philippines (21-14), and Adamson University (21-10).
"This is an intro to 5-on-5, we're also undefeated in 3x3 so we have to keep that momentum going because that's what leads to 5-on-5," said Lady Bulldog Camille Clarin. "The heat is a killer. A lot of us are struggling right now. We're just really fighting the heat. That's our biggest enemy."
Clarin finished the match against the Fighting Maroons with a two-pointer with 1:08 remaining on the clock, while Angel Surada ended their bout against the Lady Falcons just in time with a layup with two seconds left.
UP, which went 1-6 in Season 81, shocked its way to 3-1 after wins against AdU (7-4), Ateneo de Manila University (13-11), and the Growling Tigresses (13-11).
And the Fighting Maroons showed grit, especially in their games against the Blue Eagles and UST, both went to overtime.
Marian Domingo nailed the game-winner from deep against Ateneo, while Stiffany Larrosa and Christie Bariquit nailed a bucket apiece against the Growling Tigresses for the win.
"Past is past but we learned from those experiences. We are very happy na ito 'yung napproduce namin. Itong team namin ngayon iba na at lumalaban na," said Domingo.
The Blue Eagles and UST are tied for third place with identical 2-2 records, while the Lady Tamaraws, AdU, and De La Salle University were all at 1-3 in the tight race for the Final Four.
Ateneo scored 17-14 and 13-10 wins against FEU and the Lady Archers, respectively, while losing to the Lady Falcons, 11-16.
The Growling Tigers nabbed a close 11-10 win versus DLSU before defeating the Lady Tamaraws 15-10 for the .500 record.
In other results, FEU escaped the Lady Archers, 13-12; before the latter bounced back against AdU, 9-7.
The Scores:
Game 1
Ateneo 17 - Joson 6, Miranda 6, Villacruz 3. Nieves 2.
FEU 14 - Taguiam 8, Pacia 4, Manguiat 2, Antonio 0.
Game 2
UST 11 - Bron 4, Pangilinan 4, Soriano 2, Ferrer 1.
DLSU 10 - Binaohan 5, Jimenez 3, Espinas 2, Quingco 0.
Game 3
UP 7 - Domingo 3, Larrosa 2, Bariquit 2, Maw 0.
AdU 4 - Medina 2, Padilla 2, Agojo 0, Flor 0.
Game 4
NU 13 - Pingol 6, Clarin 3, Cayabyab 2, Surada 2.
UST 9 - Soriano 3, Ferrer 3, Bron 2, Pangilinan 1.
Game 5 (OT)
UP 13 - Domingo 4, Larrosa 4, Bariquit 3, Maw 2.
Ateneo 11 - Joson 5, Villacruz 4, Miranda 2, Nieves 0.
OT: Domingo 2
Game 6
FEU 13 - Taguiam 6, Pacia 4, Antonio 2, Manguiat 1.
DLSU 12 - Quingco 8, Binaohan 3, Jimenez 1, Espinas 0.
Game 7
AdU 16 - Medina 9, Padilla 3, Flor 3, Agojo 1.
Ateneo 11 - Miranda 5, Joson 4, Villacruz 2, Nieves 0.
Game 8
NU 15 - Cayabyab 8, Surada 3, Clarin 3, Pingol 1.
FEU 5 - Antonio 3, Manguiat 2, Taguiam 0, Pacia 0.
Game 9
DLSU 9 - Binaohan 5, Jimenez 2, Quingco 2, Espinas 0.
AdU 7 - Padilla 3, Flor 2, Medina 2, Agojo 0.
Game 10
NU 21 - Clarin 8, Cayabyab 7, Surada 5, Pingol 1.
UP 14 - Bariquit 6, Larrosa 5, Domingo 3, Maw 0.
Time: Clarin 2 (8:52)
Game 11
UST 15 - Ferrer 5, Soriano 4, Bron 4, Pangilinan 2.
FEU 10 - Taguiam 5, Pacia 3, Antonio 2, Manguiat 0.
Game 12
Ateneo 13 - Miranda 6, Villacruz 4, Joson 3, Nieves 0.
DLSU 10 - Binaohan 7, Espinas 1, Jimenez 1, Quingco 1.
Game 13
NU 21 - Cayabyab 11, Surada 6, Clarin 2, Pingol 2.
AdU 10 - Medina 10, Padilla 0, Flor 0, Agojo 0.
Time: Surada (9:58)
Game 14 (OT)
UP 13 - Larrosa 6, Domingo 4, Bariquit 3, Maw 0.
UST 11 - Ferrer 4, Pangilinan 4, Bron 2, Soriano 1.
OT: Bariquit (Dennis Lachica, Sportsmanila Photojournalist)