MANILA, Philippines -- (UPDATED) Far Eastern University pounced on De La Salle University's manpower woes to hack out a 57-53 triumph in the UAAP Season 85 men's basketball tournament, Wednesday at the Mall of Asia Arena.

In a defensive grind that saw both teams combine for just five field goals in the fourth quarter, the Tamaraws got a lift from Cameroonian center Patrick Tchuente en route to a fourth consecutive victory. La Salle, meanwhile, dropped its third straight game.

After opening their campaign with five straight losses -- their worst start in the Final 4 era -- the Tamaraws (4-5) are now tied for fourth place with the University of the East and are in contention for a spot in the semis.

"I credit this win to our defense. Pag-grind out win kasi, that means it's a defensive game. 'Pag ganoon, mas pumapabor sa amin," FEU coach Olsen Racela said.

Racela admitted that his team caught a break with La Salle missing five players, including top MVP candidate Schonny Winston who is dealing with a hamstring issue. The Green Archers are also missing Michael Phillips (rest), Raven Cortez (ankle), Ice Blanco (fever), and Evan Nelle (suspension).

"Sinwerte kami because of that situation La Salle is in. A win is a win, an ugly win for us but kailangan namin ng panalo and we'll take it," said Racela.

Xyrus Torres top-scored for FEU with 12 points, though he made just three of his 16 field goal attempts. LJ Gonzales added 10 points, five rebounds, and four assists. Tchuente earned Player of the Game honors after scoring all five of his points in the fourth quarter to go along with eight rebounds, four blocks, and two steals.

La Salle pushed ahead, 48-45, with 8:22 to go off two free throws by Penny Estacio but a Gonzales triple knotted the count, setting the stage for a back-and-forth finish.

Tchuente's layup with 6:36 left forced the game last tie at 50-all, before two free throws from Torres gave the Tams the lead for good, 52-50. Cholo Anonuevo added two more free throws with 2:20 left for a 54-50 count, before FEU forced La Salle into a 24-second violation.

A crucial putback by Tchuente widened the gap to six points, 56-50, with just 52.9 seconds to go. CJ Austria's triple kept La Salle alive with 32.1 seconds left, and the Green Archers still had a chance to tie but Austria lost the ball against Bryan Sajonia with six seconds to play.

That set up the game-clinching free throw for Torres, and the Green Archers fell to 3-5 in the season -- tied for sixth and seventh with Adamson University.

Kevin Quiambao had 12 points, eight rebounds, and four assists for the Green Archers, though he was also responsible for four of La Salle's 20 turnovers. The Green Archers had a 51-39 rebounding advantage but shot just 27.6% from the field.

Aside from Quiambao, no other La Salle player reached double-digits. Mark Nonoy, who started at point guard in place of Nelle, had four points on 2-of-10 shooting from the field while Austria, Penny Estacio, and Bright Nwankwo each had eight points.

The Scores:

FEU 57 -- Torres 12, Gonales 10, Sajonia 9, Anonuevo 6, Sleat 6, Bautista 6, Tchuente 5, Bagunu 2, Sandagon 1, Alforque 0, Tempra 0, Celzo 0.

LA SALLE 53 -- Quiambao 12, Nwankwo 8, Austria 8, Estacio 8, Buensalida 5, Nonoy 4, Abadam 3, Macalalag 2, B. Phillips 2, Manuel 1, Escandor 0.

Quarters: 16-13, 33-27, 44-43, 57-53.