MANILA (UPDATED) - The University of the East pulled off an impressive 78-68 victory over the University of Santo Tomas for its second straight win of UAAP Season 85, Sunday at the Mall of Asia Arena.

The Red Warriors got a big performance from Filipino-American forward LA Villegas, who had 17 points, 13 rebounds, six assists and three steals in 35 minutes. Nick Paranada also had 17 points, while Harvey Pagsanjan had his best performance yet for UE with 11 rebounds and five points.

UE sent the Growling Tigers to their fourth loss in a row in Season 85, while also ending a five-year drought against the cagers from España. The Red Warriors had not beaten UST since Oct. 17, 2017, when they claimed a 96-91 win in Season 80.

"It's really a team effort," UE head coach Jack Santiago said after they put together a winning streak for the first time since 2019. "Guys like Harvey and [Jojo] Antiporda, medyo they were struggling. I'm so happy na nagising sila."

Antiporda scored all 13 of his points in the third quarter to help the Red Warriors pull away after settling for a 29-28 lead at the half.

It was an at times ill-tempered game, with UST center Adama Faye getting thrown out with two minutes left in the third quarter after elbowing Pagsanjan during a rebounding scrum. Villegas himself was called for an unsportsmanlike foul with 1:21 to play in the third, leading to a split at the line for UST's Richi Calimag.

But the Red Warriors kept their composure and entered the fourth quarter with a 55-49 advantage. They stretched the lead to double-digits, 73-60, with 1:28 left after a personal 5-point run by Villegas that he capped with an open three-pointer.

"I'm grateful for my teammates," said Villegas, who went 2-of-9 from the field in the first half before finding his touch. "First half was tough for me, but they kept telling me to keep shooting."

Gani Stevens, who committed to UST in the preseason before transferring to UE, had a UAAP career-best of 11 points on 5-of-7 shooting in 20 minutes of play.

The Growling Tigers have not won since an opening-day upset of Adamson University. Nick Cabañero scored 19 points and grabbed 10 boards for UST, while Ivan Lazarte had 12. Faye already had 11 points and nine rebounds before he was slapped with a disqualifying foul in the third period.

The Scores:

UE 78 -- Villegas 17, N. Paranada 17, Antiporda 13, Stevens 11, Pagsanjan 5, Payawal 5, K. Paranada 4, Sawat 4, Abatayo 2, Beltran 0, Remogat 0, Guevarra 0, Alcantara 0, Langit 0, Lingo-lingo 0.

UST 68 -- Cabanero 19, Lazarte 12, Faye 11, Manalang 9, Pangilinan 8, Manaytay 5, Duremdes 2, Calimag 1, Mantua 1, Garing 0, Herrera 0.

Quarters: 10-13, 28-29, 55-49, 78-68.

UAAP Season 85 is streaming on iWantTFC every Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday, available for Premium users outside the Philippines.