MANILA, Philippines -- (UPDATED) Ateneo de Manila University regained its winning ways after pulling away for an 79-52 victory over the University of Santo Tomas (UST) on Wednesday afternoon at the Mall of Asia Arena.

Coming off their first defeat of UAAP Season 85, it took the Blue Eagles some time to get into a rhythm but simply had too much firepower for the Growling Tigers. They improved to 3-1 in the men's basketball tournament.

It was at times an ill-tempered ball game that saw Ateneo head coach Tab Baldwin get into a shouting match with UST foreign student-athlete Adama Faye late in the third period. Both were called for technical fouls for unsportsmanlike behavior.

It was also Faye's fifth foul of the contest and he made his exit with still 3:11 to play in the third quarter.

The Growling Tigers fell to a third straight loss for a 1-3 slate. Faye and Baldwin made amends at the final buzzer, with the Ateneo coach seen clearing the air with the UST center.

Forthsky Padrigao atoned from a brutal shooting performance against De La Salle University last Sunday to put up 20 points, eight assists, and five steals. Dave Ildefonso, who also struggled against the Green Archers, had 10 points, nine boards, and six dimes in 20 minutes.

"It was a good win for us, in the end, against a team that really had the fighting spirit today," said Baldwin, as he praised both Ildefonso and Padrigao for stepping up against the Growling Tigers.

The Blue Eagles clung to a 33-32 lead at the break as they were still hounded by shooting woes. Padrigao was 4-of-10 from the field at the half while Ildefonso made just one of seven attempts.

But they opened the third quarter brightly, with Padrigao sinking a three-pointer. Back-to-back triples by Ildefonso with over three minutes left pushed Ateneo's lead to double-digits, 51-38.

Faye was called for an offensive foul -- his fourth -- with 3:11 to go after pushing off against Ateneo's Geo Chiu. In the ensuing dead ball situation, he exchanged words with Baldwin, and officials later tagged both men with technical fouls. Unfortunately for the Growling Tigers, it meant that they had to play the rest of the game without their foreign student athlete.

It was all Ateneo in the fourth quarter, with Baldwin opting to rest reigning Most Valuable Player Ange Kouame while Geo Chiu manned the paint. With the game well under control, Ateneo was able to give some time to its third stringers. They reached their biggest lead at 29 points with 45.6 seconds left off a split at the line by Anton Quitevis.

UST's Nic Cabanero had 12 points on 5-of-12 shooting, while Ivan Lazarte collected 11 points. Faye finished with eight points and four rebounds in 21 minutes before fouling out.

The scores:

ATENEO 79 -- Padrigao 20, Ildefonso 10, Ballungay 10, Koon 7, Kouame 7, Chiu 5, Quitevis 5, Andrade 3, Gomez 3, Garcia 3, Fornilos 3, Lazaro 2, Daves 1, Fetalvero 0, Ong 0, Lao 0.

UST 52 -- Cabanero 12, Lazarte 11, Faye 8, Pangilinan 5, Manalang 5, Duremdes 5, Garing 4, Magdangal 2, Manaytay 0, Calimag 0, Laure 0, Mantua 0, Herrera 0, Escobido 0, Gesalem 0.

Quarters: 18-14, 33-32, 57-43, 79-52.

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