Ateneo de Manila University banked on another strong third quarter outing to add more woes to skidding University of Santo Tomas, 72-55, in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines Season 85 men's basketball tournament at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on Thursday.

The Blue Eagles dropped 27 points in the third period and limited the Tigers to just 10 to open a 25-point lead on their way to their second straight win that hiked their win-loss record to 7-3 at solo third spot.

"I think defensively we're pretty good. We set the tone after the break at halftime. We set the tone defensively that helped us create chances to score," Ateneo coach Tab Baldwin said.

From an eight-point lead to close the first half, the Blue Eagles built a 62-37 advantage after the third quarter before cruising to a blow out.

BJ Andrade scored 14 points while Ange Kouame also got 14 markers and grabbed seven rebounds for Ateneo. Forthsky Padrigao added 10 points for the Blue Eagles.

UST absorbed its ninth straight defeat in 10 games.

Nic Cabanero had 26 points, eight rebounds and seven assists for the Tigers but his all efforts went down the drain once again. Adama Faye was the only other UST player in double figures with 10 points and 11 boards.

The Scores:

ATENEO (72) — Andrade 14, Kouame 14, Padrigao 10, Koon 9, Ildefonso 5, Garcia 5, Chiu 4, Lazaro 3, Fetalvero 3, Fornilos 3, Ballungay 2, Quitevis 0, Daves 0, Lao 0, Ong 0.

UST (55) — Cabanero 26, Faye 10, Manalang 6, Pangilinan 6, Duremdes 5, Manaytay 2, Calimag 0, Laure 0, Mantua 0, Gesalem 0, Herrera 0.

Quarters: 22-10, 35-27, 62-37, 72-55.