MANILA, Philippines -- (UPDATED) The University of the Philippines continues to have the number of their Katipunan rivals, as the Fighting Maroons held on for a 76-71 victory over the Ateneo Blue Eagles on Sunday night.

In front of a sizable crowd at the Mall of Asia Arena, the defending champions lost grip of a seven-point lead with three minutes to go in regulation, but regained their bearings in the overtime period.

In winning the first round of the Battle of Katipunan, UP bounced back from its first loss of the UAAP Season 85 men's basketball tournament. They rose to 4-1 in the tournament to earn a share of first place along with National University -- the team that defeated them last Wednesday.

Ateneo, meanwhile, fell to 3-2. The Blue Eagles are in a logjam with University of the East and De La Salle University for third to fifth places.

"Today, we played better as a team," said UP coach Goldwin Monteverde. "We moved the ball well. We're really trying to work on, especially sa offense namin."

"Today we really got tested sa game. Maganda doon, the whole team just stayed together, did their best to execute on both ends," he added.

Carl Tamayo was the star for UP, finishing with 20 points, 13 rebounds, three assists, and a block in 34 minutes. James Spencer had 14 points, and Malick Diouf added 12 including the go-ahead slam dunk in overtime.

The Fighting Maroons welcomed back JD Cagulangan, the hero of their conquest of Ateneo in the Season 84 Finals. The guard made his first field goal of the game -- a three-pointer reminiscent of his championship-winner last May -- and finished with seven points, seven rebounds, five assists, and four steals.

UP's defense flustered the Blue Eagles in the fourth quarter, with Ateneo forced into several misses in the period. On the other end, the Fighting Maroons pounced on the Blue Eagles' miscues and turnovers; they surged to a seven-point lead, 63-56, off a triple by Spencer with 7:42 to go.

But the Blue Eagles refused to go away easily. After they trailed 64-57 from a split at the line by Tamayo, they scored seven straight points to knot the count. Forthsky Padrigao knocked down a huge three-pointer with 36.9 seconds to force a 64-all tie.

Ateneo got a chance to win the game in overtime when Cagulangan's pass was mishandled by Tamayo, but all they got was a triple from Padrigao that misfired at the buzzer.

In overtime, the Fighting Maroons again clamped down defensively, forcing Ateneo to three straight turnovers. Harold Alarcon and Cagulangan were unable to make the Blue Eagles pay at first, but Diouf finally came up with a two-handed slam dunk in transition after poaching the ball off Ateneo's Ange Kouame for a 68-66 lead with 2:20 to go.

The momentum shifted in UP's favor when Kouame was called for a goal-tend on a Tamayo layup with 1:47 left, while he was also fouled by Kai Ballungay. The reigning Rookie of the Year completed the three-point play for a 71-66 UP lead.

Ateneo had one last chance when Padrigao drilled another three-pointer with 23.4 seconds to cut the deficit to two points, 73-71, but a split at the line by Tamayo restored a three-point spread. In Ateneo's next possession, Ballungay misfired on a corner triple, and Diouf was able to ice the game at the line.

"Sobrang happy ko, kasi nalagpasan ulit namin 'yung hirap ng pinagdaanan namin sa laro," Tamayo said. "Walang bumitaw."

This is the third time in their last four games that UP and Ateneo have gone to overtime; the Fighting Maroons have won all OT games.

Dave Ildefonso led Ateneo with 22 points, 12 rebounds, three assists and two steals, while Padrigao finished with 15 points, four assists, and four boards.

Kouame was limited to 10 points and 12 rebounds in 28 minutes, having dealt with foul trouble for most of the game.

The Scores:

UP 76 -- Tamayo 20, Spencer 14, Diouf 12, Lucero 10, Cagulangan 7, Abadiano 6, Galinato 4, Fortea 3, Gonzales 0, Alarcon 0, Calimag 0.

ATENEO 71 -- Ildefonso 22, Padrigao 15, Kouame 10, Andrade 9, Ballungay 8, Koon 5, Chiu 2, Lazaro 0, Gomez 0, Garcia 0, Quitevis 0.

Quarters: 18-14, 33-38, 53-54, 64-64, 76-71.

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