University of the Philippines (UP) finally got a breather, halting back-to-back losses Saturday.

The Fighting Maroons sent Far Eastern University (FEU) on an early vacation by dashing its Final Four hopes with an 86-78 victory in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 87 men’s basketball tournament at the Filoil EcoOil Centre in San Juan.

With guards Gerry Abadiano and JD Cagulangan at the helm, UP rediscovered its winning ways for a 10-3 win-loss record to build momentum heading into the semifinals.

The Fighting Maroons are already locked as second seed in the Final Four armed with a twice-to-beat advantage.

Abadiano had a season-high 19 points, four rebounds, two steals, and one assist, while Cagulangan added 12 points, seven rebounds, four assists and four steals for the Diliman-based squad.

Francis Lopez scored 12 points, Aldous Torculas chipped in 11 points, while big man Quentin Millora-Brown contributed seven points and 13 rebounds after skipping the Fighting Maroons’ second-round clash against defending champion De La Salle University due to the passing of his grandfather.

But UP had to grind it out against the Tamaraws until the last minute to escape.

FEU trimmed down its deficit to 78-81 with 50.2 seconds left after three Jorick Bautista free throws. Cagulangan answered with a step back triple with 26.7 seconds left to restore order.

“Every time we had these kinds of games, we had to battle it out. In the end, it makes you proud as a coach. Especially coming from losses seeing the heart of the players was great,” UP head coach Goldwin Monteverde said.

The Tamaraws closed their first season under head coach Sean Chambers with a 5-9 slate tied with National University — a two-win improvement from a 3-11 record last year.

Jorick Bautista paced FEU with 16 points, two rebounds, and one steal, while Janrey Pasaol contributed 15 points, seven rebounds, six assists and one steal.

Veejay Pre also tallied 15 points to go along with eight rebounds, three blocks, two assists, and one steal, while Gambian center Mo Konateh had a double-double of 11 points and 16 rebounds for FEU.

In his final year with the Tamaraws, Royce Alforque tallied nine points, four assists, two rebounds and one steal.

The Scores:

UP (86) — Abadiano 19, Cagulangan 12, Lopez 12, Torculas 11, Torres 7, Millora-Brown 7, Fortea 6, Felicilda 3, Alarcon 3, Bayla 2, Stevens 2, Belmonte 2, Briones 0, Ududo 0.

FEU (78) — Bautista 16, Pasaol 16, Pre 16, Konateh 11, Alforque 9, Montemayor 7, Daa 3, Ona 2, Bagunu 0.

Quarters: 22-16, 42-39, 67-62, 86-78.