MANILA, Philippines -- For the first time since their classic three-game series in the Season 84 Finals, the University of the Philippines and the Ateneo de Manila University will face off in the UAAP.

The Fighting Maroons and the Blue Eagles enter Sunday's match-up at the Mall of Asia Arena with identical 3-1 win-loss records, but Ateneo will have momentum as it is coming off a win against the University of Santo Tomas.

Defending champion UP, in contrast, is still stinging from its first loss of UAAP Season 85 -- an 80-75 setback against National University on Wednesday where they failed to complete a comeback from a deficit.

Assistant coach Christian Luanzon, speaking on behalf of Goldwin Monteverde, said the Fighting Maroons hope to take a page out of Ateneo's playbook when they face off on Sunday. The Blue Eagles had lost to their archrivals, De La Salle University, in their previous game before venting their ire on the Growling Tigers.

"Ateneo, galing sa talo. Kitang-kita, gutom sila kanina, lalo na noong second half," said Luanzon. "I hope we have the same hunger since we're coming off a loss. Hopefully, kami naman makabawi sa Sunday."

• READ: NU Bulldogs hold on to hand UP its first loss
• READ: Ateneo bounces back, overwhelms UST

The Fighting Maroons dethroned Ateneo in a three-game classic in May, with JD Cagulangan drilling the game-winning three-pointer at the buzzer that gave UP its first title in nearly four decades.

Cagulangan has yet to play in Season 85 as he is recovering from a muscle strain that he sustained in the preseason. In his place, the Fighting Maroons have gotten solid contributions from Terrence Fortea while Carl Tamayo has lived up to expectations as the team's top option.

For Ateneo, reigning Most Valuable Player Ange Kouame has shown little effects of a knee injury that kept him out of action for most of the preseason, while Forthsky Padrigao has taken charge as the team's point guard.

Ateneo coach Tab Baldwin is expecting a "dogfight" between two teams that are still struggling to play their best basketball at this point in the tournament.

"We're going up against, obviously, the league favorites," said Baldwin. "[But] they've had some struggles. They have injuries. They're still finding their best form, as we are, as I think most teams are."

"So, rather than being a classic, it's probably gonna be more of a dogfight. That's okay," he added. "I don't think we're scared of dogfights."

Tip-off is at 4:30 p.m.

Meanwhile, it will be UST vs. the University of the East at 12 noon, with the Red Warriors eyeing a second straight win following their upset of La Salle last week.

The Growling Tigers have lost three consecutive games after a season-opening triumph against hosts Adamson University.

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