MANILA, Philippines -- (UPDATED) The Ateneo Blue Eagles secured a much-needed win on Saturday, as they pulled away for a 68-54 victory over the De La Salle Green Archers in their second round encounter in UAAP Season 85.

A huge third quarter got the job done for the Blue Eagles at the Araneta Coliseum, as they improved to 6-3 in the men's basketball tournament ahead of the UAAP's prolonged break to give way for the FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers.

After suffering a shock loss to National University last Wednesday, the result was a much-needed one for the Blue Eagles who regained their winning ways and stayed within striking distance of the Bulldogs for the No. 2 spot.

"I think that the third quarter was very telling. We defended great in the third quarter and that led to some easy points which allowed us to get some separation on the scoreboard, which was pretty critical," said Ateneo coach Tab Baldwin.

The Blue Eagles seized control of the contest in the third after settling for a 29-all deadlock at the halftime break. They opened the second half with nine unanswered points to surge ahead, 38-29. A Mark Nonoy triple finally broke the silence for La Salle, but Ateneo responded with a 9-0 blast to establish a double-digit lead, 47-32.

Baldwin limited his rotation to nine players, with five of them finishing in double digits. Dave Ildefonso had 12 points on 5-of-15 shooting with seven rebounds, three steals and two assists, but it was reigning Most Valuable Player Ange Kouame who anchored the win with an 11-point, 14-rebound double-double that he laced with five blocks and three steals.

Ateneo would push their lead to 22 points, 61-39, with 8:21 to play as La Salle struggled to put up points in the absence of their top-scorer, Schonny Winston. The league's leading candidate for MVP honors missed a second straight game due to a calf injury.

The Green Archers made a late run, cutting the deficit to just 12 points off a Joaqui Manuel floater with four and a half minutes to play, 61-49.

But a three-pointer by Chris Koon with three minutes left restored order for Ateneo, and the Green Archers ran out of time to make a comeback.

"We did a good job defensively, we did a good job on the boards. When you hold a team to 16 field goals, that's a pretty good defensive effort and we're really proud of that," Baldwin said.

The Blue Eagles got back at their archrivals for their loss in the first round of UAAP Season 85, and also dealt a reeling La Salle squad its fourth consecutive loss. The Green Archers -- tipped to contend for the championship this season -- is in seventh place in the league standings with a 3-6 win-loss slate.

Evan Nelle returned from a one-game suspension to lead La Salle with 15 points, seven rebounds, and five assists while Bright Nwankwo had 11 rebounds and seven points. But the Green Archers simply didn't have enough firepower with Winston out, and they wound up making just 16 of their 59 field goal attempts for a poor 27.1% clip.

La Salle's loss also assured defending champion University of the Philippines of a spot in the Final 4.

The Scores:

ATENEO 68 -- Ildefonso 12, Kouame 11, Ballungay 11, Koon 11, Padrigao 11, Andrade 8, Gomez 2, Chiu 2, Lazaro 0.

LA SALLE 54 -- Nelle 15, Nwankwo 7, Quiambao 6, Nonoy 6, Austria 5, Estacio 5, Manuel 4, M. Phillips 3, Abadam 2, Macalalag 1.

Quarters: 10-16, 29-29, 56-39, 68-54.