National University began its quest for an eighth consecutive crown in the UAAP Season 86 Women’s Basketball Tournament with a strong defensive performance that resulted in a wire-to-wire 77-57 victory over Ateneo de Manila University on Sunday at the UST Quadricentennial Pavilion.

NU didn't allow Ateneo to take the lead even for a moment during the game.

The Lady Bulldogs forced the Blue Eagles into committing 26 turnovers, seven of which came from Ateneo’s fifth-year guard, Jhazmin Joson.

Blue Eagles sophomore power forward Kacey Dela Rosa, who fouled out with still two minutes and 21 seconds left in the third quarter, also struggled, managing only seven points on five field goal attempts.

“It’s always tough to play a combo of Dela Rosa and Joson knowing for a fact that they gained a lot of experience playing for the national team,” said Lady Bulldogs head coach Aris Dimaunahan about limiting the two members of the UAAP Season 85 Mythical Team.

“Our main focus today was for those two guys and some of their supporting cast to be limited. I thought we did a great job as a team defending them and eventually getting the win," the former interim Blackwater head coach continued.

The Lady Bulldogs, who led by as much as 14 points in the first half, extended their lead to as wide as 72-47 thanks to Camille Clarin’s three-point shot with four minutes and 38 seconds remaining in the game.

“We had 25 points off their 26 turnovers so that was a testament of how pesky we were on the defensive side and we took advantage of them turning the ball over and then we turned it into gold,” said Dimaunahan.

Ann Pingol and Clarin led NU with 11 points each, with the former also contributing seven rebounds and four assists. All but two of the Lady Bulldogs managed to score points against the Blue Eagles.

NU's next match will be against Far Eastern University this Wednesday at 3 p.m. in the Adamson Gym.

Sarah Makanjuola led Ateneo with 13 points and 10 rebounds, followed by Junize Calago’s 11 points and seven rebounds. Dela Rosa grabbed eight rebounds while Joson contributed five points and three assists.

Ateneo will look to bounce back against archrival De La Salle University at 11 a.m. in the Adamson Gym.

The Scores:

NU (77) - Pingol 11, Clarin 11, Canuto 9, Surada 8, Fabruada 7, Talas 6, Bartolo 5, Cayabyab 5, Konateh 5, Solis 4, Betanio 2, Ico 2, Magbanua 2, Alcantara 0, Alterado 0.

Ateneo (57) - Makanjuola 13, Calago 11, Dela Rosa 7, Joson 5, Villacruz 5, Solis 5, Cancio 5, Eufemiano 2, Mataga 2, Angala 1, Fetalvero 1, Nieves 0, Gastador 0.

Quarterscores: 19-13, 36-25, 58-41, 77-57.