MANILA, Philippines -- (UPDATED) The University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons are one win away from a second straight UAAP championship, after a 72-66 victory over Ateneo de Manila University on Sunday at the Mall of Asia Arena.

The Fighting Maroons surged to a 1-0 lead in the best-of-3 series in the UAAP Season 85 Finals to move on the cusp of back-to-back championships, getting the job done in front of a crowd of 18,211 fans at the Pasay venue.

It was another nip-and-tuck affair between the Katipunan rivals, with UP leading by as much as 10 points in the fourth quarter before holding off a late charge from the Blue Eagles. Anchoring the victory was Zavier Lucero, who had 14 points, 11 rebounds, two assists, and two crucial blocks in the final period that kept the Fighting Maroons in control.

JD Cagulangan added 12 points, eight boards and five assists, while Harold Alarcon knocked down a pair of big-time three-pointers en route to 11 points. Presumptive Most Valuable Player winner Malick Diouf came off the bench for nine points and 10 rebounds.

"Defensively, we started well," said UP head coach Goldwin Monteverde. "'Yung movement ng bola was really there, and I liked the way the team looked for the open man. They had their run kanina, but at least na-sustain namin in the fourth."

Much like they did in their triumph in the Season 84 finals, the Fighting Maroons made the bigger plays down the stretch when the Blue Eagles were trying to make their move. Ateneo was down by just two points, 58-56, after an Ange Kouame triple and had a chance to tie the ball game with still over seven minutes left.

But Lucero came up with a massive block of a Chris Koon dunk attempt, which led to an Alarcon three-pointer on the other end to push UP's lead back to five points. It triggered a 10-2 UP run capped by another Alarcon triple -- this time to beat the shot-clock buzzer -- that gave the defending champions a double-digit cushion, 68-58, with 4:39 to play.

The lead proved large enough to hold off Ateneo's last ditch rally, with UP's defense staying firm in the closing stages.

"Every time there's an opportunity to help, it's on us to make sure no one is left on an island," said Lucero. "That was just me being at the right place at the right time."

Ateneo had one last run in them: Kouame's layup trimmed the deficit to five points, 70-65, with over two minutes left and a split at the line by Dave Ildefonso made it a four-point game with still 1:24 to play. The Blue Eagles then forced Lucero into a missed three, and got a break when Carl Tamayo bricked two charities with 48 seconds to go.

But Lucero came up with another massive defensive play when he blocked Kouame's attempt at a putback with 33.0 seconds to play, preserving UP's four-point advantage. Ateneo got Kouame free for a three-pointer with eight seconds to go, but the big man's attempt was off the mark and UP went on to ice the game at the line through two free throws by Cagulangan.

"It was a team effort, for sure," said Lucero of their win, as he also stressed the need for UP to move on quickly.

"It's great, but we got another one ahead of us. So we gotta move on and focus on preparing for the next game," he said.

Kouame finished with 15 points, 10 rebounds, two blocks and an assist but was plagued with fouls in his 24-minute stint. Ildefonso made just 3-of-12 shots for 10 points; Ateneo, as a team, bricked 11 of their 26 free throws in a six-point loss.

Ateneo point guard Forthsky Padrigao had 16 points and five turnovers but sat out in crunch time due to cramps.

The Blue Eagles also had just one solitary fastbreak point to UP's 13; the Fighting Maroons scored 10 points off Ateneo's 15 turnovers.

Game 2 is on Wednesday at the Araneta Coliseum.

The Scores:

UP 72 -- Lucero 14, Cagulangan 12, Alarcon 11, Diouf 9, Gonzales 8, Tamayo 7, Galinato 6, Spencer 5, Fortea 0, Abadiano 0.

ATENEO 66 -- Padrigao 16, Kouame 15, Ildefonso 10, Andrade 10, Koon 9, Lazaro 3, Chiu 2, Gomez 1, Ballungay 0, Daves 0, Quitevis 0, Lao 0.

Quarters: 28-19, 42-35, 54-50, 72-66.

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