MANILA, Philippines—(UPDATED) The Ateneo Blue Eagles are just one victory away from claiming the UAAP Season 80 men's basketball championship.

This, after the Blue Eagles held on for a gutsy 76-70 victory over defending champion De La Salle University in Game 1 of the best-of-three finals on Saturday at Mall of Asia Arena, in a contest that was seen by over 15,000 fans at the Pasay venue.

Shining once more for the Blue and White were the Nieto twins, Matt and Mike, while Isaac Go and Thirdy Ravena conspired for the clutch play that iced Ateneo's victory with just 10.4 seconds left to play in the game.

With the victory, the Blue Eagles are now just one more win away from their first UAAP championship since 2012, when they took the last of five straight championships.

Ravena finished with 12 points, six rebounds, and four assists, and the Nieto brothers each scored 11 points. Anton Asistio fired 10 points in the game.

Most crucial to Ateneo's victory, however, was its sterling defense on reigning two-time MVP Ben Mbala. The La Salle big man only attempted seven shots in the game, of which he made three. He finished with eight points – a UAAP career-low – with 12 rebounds and four assists.

"We can't play Ben Mbala straight up, one on one. We needed all of our five guys to come up and do the roles in order to slow down Ben," said Ateneo coach Sandy Arespacochaga. "That was important for us."

"The players implemented our game plan. There were some mistakes, but more or less, we were happy with how they executed," he added.

Ateneo led by as many as 13 points early in the second quarter, but the Green Archers came alive in the middle quarters to inch closer.

The Blue Eagles were also dealt a blow with just 36 seconds left in the second frame, when Matt Nieto took an inadvertent elbow from Mbala that opened up a huge, bloody cut above his left eye. They still led 43-39 at the half, but the Green Archers were steadily gaining momentum thanks to the sniping of Aljun Melecio.

La Salle took its first lead of the second half, 57-56, with three minutes left in the third quarter after a highlight-reel worthy lay-up by skipper Kib Montalbo.

Kib Montalbo is a wizard. #UAAPSeason80 pic.twitter.com/YbxMVEBatT

— ABS-CBN Sports (@abscbnsports) November 25, 2017

The Blue Eagles recovered well, however, with "Big Mike" scoring back-to-back buckets to help them take a 60-58 lead heading into the payoff period. He continued his heroics in the fourth, converting an and-1 that anchored a 9-1 blast to give Ateneo a 69-59 lead with just 6:34 to go, and force La Salle to call an early timeout.

"I just got really motivated when Matt went down," said Mike, who scored all 11 of his points in the 13-2 run bridging the third and fourth quarters.

The Green Archers clawed their way back thanks to Melecio, who starred in an 11-2 run that made it a one-possession game, 71-70, with still 2:32 to go. Melecio, the reigning Rookie of the Year, knocked down a deep three-pointer to highlight the run, and capped it with another jumper to cut the deficit to just one point.

Showing the poise that allowed them to power past Far Eastern University in the final four, however, Ateneo simply buckled down to work. Ravena collared an offensive rebound off an Asistio miss for the putback that made it 73-70, then the Blue Eagles got consecutive stops on Ricci Rivero and Melecio.

The Blue Eagles left the door open for La Salle when Asistio bricked a triple, but the Green Archers could not take advantage as Rivero blew another lay-up with 31.8 seconds left. On the other end, Ateneo put the ball in the hands of Ravena, who broke down the La Salle defense before dishing it off for Go.

And Go, the hero of their final four win against FEU, came up big once again as he scored despite contact, and drew Kib Montalbo's third foul to boot. He completed the and-1 play for a 76-70 lead with 10.4 seconds to go. Out of a timeout, Melecio bricked a triple again, essentially ending La Salle's hopes of victory.

It's GO time. #UAAPSeason80 pic.twitter.com/vSOoUfsTpb

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"Medyo nag-mature na rin 'yung team," said Mike. "Hindi na kami nara-rattle, no matter what La Salle gave us. Nagbakbakan kami ng FEU noong last game, and we came away with a win against them. So medyo nasanay na kami sa pressure."

Ateneo did not shoot particularly well, making only 39.1% of their attempts. La Salle, for its part, shot 42.6% from the field. But the Blue Eagles were able to do damage at the line, as they converted 20 of their 30 freebies. They also tallied a 45-37 advantage against La Salle on the glass, and committed only 16 turnovers despite the Green Archers' pressure defense.

The Blue Eagles can clinch the UAAP crown on Wednesday's Game 2 at the Araneta Coliseum.

The scores:

ATENEO 76 – Ravena 12, Nieto Ma 11, Nieto Mi 11, Asistio 10, Tolentino 9, Black 7, Verano 5, Go 5, Ikeh 4, Tio 2, Mamuyac 0, Mendoza 0, Porter 0

DLSU 70 – Melecio 24, Rivero R 10, Mbala 8, Tratter 7, Santillan 7, Rivero P 7, Baltazar 4, Montalbo 3, Caracut 0, Go 0, Tero 0, Paraiso 0

QUARTER SCORES: 26-14, 43-39, 60-58, 76-70

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