MANILA, Philippines -- (UPDATED) Kean Baclaan led the way as National University picked up its second win of UAAP Season 85 by defeating University of Santo Tomas, 69-63, on Sunday afternoon at the Araneta Coliseum.

Baclaan, who played for UST in the preseason before a much-publicized transfer to NU, had a bright start for the Tigers. The rookie guard finished with a career-high 16 points, seven assists, and four steals, making four of his nine three-pointers.

Veteran guard John Lloyd Clemente also had 16 points, while foreign student-athlete Omar John had eight points and 11 boards. The Bulldogs torched UST from the perimeter, where they scored 38 points.

"We're lucky we got that win," admitted NU coach Jeff Napa after his team improved to 2-1 in the season. "Kasi kahit papaano, nakakatakot 'yung UST. Hanggang dulo, hindi sila bumibigay."

The Bulldogs seized control of the contest in the second quarter, where they held UST to just nine points. They entered the break with a 35-23 lead and eventually pulled away by as much as 18 points, 62-44, with 8:02 to play off a Baclaan three-pointer.

UST did not go down easily. The Tigers reeled off 10 straight points, capped by a split at the line by Nic Cabanero, to get within eight, 62-54, with still 1:12 to play. A dunk by John finally ended NU's silence, but the Tigers continued to work their way back and were within five points, 65-60, after Cabanero made two of three free throws from a John foul with 17.4 ticks left.

Two freebies by Clemente made it 67-60 for NU, and UST had one last chance when Cabanero knocked down a three-pointer to make it a four-point game, 67-63, with 10.2 seconds left. Time ran out on the Tigers, however, as Clemente made two more charities to peg the final score.

"Medyo nag-relax [ang players]," said Napa. "'Yun ang kailangan namin i-address."

UST out-scored NU 21-12 in the fourth quarter before running out of time to complete their comeback.

Their foreign student-athlete, Adama Faye, had his best game so far with 20 points and 10 rebounds, while Cabanero finished with 16 points on 5-of-16 shooting to go along with 12 rebounds.

The Tigers fell to a 1-2 in the tournament.

The scores:

NU (69) -- Baclaan 16, Clemente 16, Omar 8, Malonzo 8, Figueroa 7, Padrones 4, Yu 3, Minerva 3, Mahinay 2, Manansala 2, Palacielo 0, Galinato 0, Tibayan 0.

UST (63) -- Faye 20, Cabañero 16, Pangilinan 9, Garing 8, Manaytay 3, Calimag 3, Laure 2, Lazarte 2, Mantua 0, Duremdes 0, Herrera 0.

Quarterscores: 16-14, 35-23, 57-42, 69-63.