MANILA, Philippines -- (UPDATED) The University of the Philippines used a strong start and a strong finish to get past the University of the East, 83-69, in their second round encounter of UAAP Season 85, Saturday at the Araneta Coliseum.

The Fighting Maroons got off to a blazing start that saw them make 14 of their 16 field goals in the first quarter, and lead by as much as 18 points. UE recovered in the second and third frames, allowing them to trim the lead to single digits in the fourth.

But the defending champions had too much firepower, with Zavier Lucero and Malick Diouf anchoring a late scoring flurry that put the Red Warriors away and clinched UP's sixth consecutive triumph in the men's basketball tournament.

At 9-1, the Fighting Maroons are assured of at least a playoff for a spot in the Final 4.

"We really moved the ball well. [Our] decision-making was good," said UP head coach Goldwin Monteverde. "Umaabot sa bigs namin [ang bola]. I think 'yung malaking resulta ng playing as a team and executing as a team."

For the second straight game, Diouf re-set his career-high with 23 points on 10-of-13 shooting, to go along with 15 rebounds, four assists, three steals and two blocks in just 26 minutes. Lucero finished with 17 points on an 8-of-12 clip.

As a team, UP shot 55.9% from the field and had a 46-31 advantage in rebounding. They also got away with committing 23 turnovers against the Red Warriors' pressure defense.

Diouf and Lucero combined for 16 points in a blistering first quarter that saw UP out-score UE, 35-18. The Fighting Maroons opened the game on a 12-0 run and wound up missing just twice in the opening period.

But UE's aggression paid off in the middle two quarters, with Filipino-American forward Gani Stevens bullying his way inside the paint to bring the Red Warriors within striking distance. They got the deficit down to just seven points, 71-64, off a putback by Stevens with still 4:03 to play.

The Fighting Maroons were ready with a response, however. Lucero and Diouf sparked a 10-0 scoring blast that put the game away, with Cyril Gonzales putting the finishing touches through a layup that made it 81-64 with 67 seconds left.

"We need to learn how to sustain what we started," said Monteverde. "But the way I see it naman, the team is nagi-improve naman kami in terms of 'yung chemistry namin. Importante lang paano namin ma-sustain."

The Red Warriors fell to 4-6 in the tournament, still in the hunt for a spot in the Final 4.

Stevens finished with a career-high 23 points on top of six rebounds and three steals in a losing effort for UE, while brothers Kyle and Nikko Paranada combined for 28 points.

The Scores:

UP 83 -- Diouf 23, Lucero 17, Fortea 10, Alarcon 10, Galinato 9, Gonzales 7, Spencer 4, Abadiano 2, Cagulangan 1, Tamayo 0, Lina 0, Torculas 0, Calimag 0, Ramos 0.

UE 69 -- Stevens 23, K. Paranada 13, N. Paranada 13, Villegas 10, Payawal 4, Sawat 2, Abatayo 2, Pagsanjan 0, Remogat 0, Antiporda 0, Beltran 0, Tulabut 0.

Quarters: 35-18, 49-33, 63-55, 83-69.