University of Santo Tomas protected its lead this time around, just enough to survive De La Salle University, 80-75, and claim its first win in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 89 men’s basketball tournament on Wednesday at the Mall of Asia Arena.

The Growling Tigers bounced back from their opening-night loss to the University of the Philippines, which pulled away with a second-half barrage.

UST and La Salle are now both 1-1 in the standings.

“This is a team effort. Coaches, players, management… I commend our coaches because they worked on every detail. They scouted each player. Actually, we're not pressured, we just played our game. We work as one unit, that's our strength,” UST head coach Pido Jarencio said.

The Growling Tigers led 72-63 midway through the fourth quarter after Collins Akowe scored on a post move against Mo Kulang, but the Green Archers refused to go away.

Luis Pablo and Jacob Cortez repeatedly drew fouls and went to the line, combining to shoot 7-for-8 from the free-throw line before JC Macalalag answered Mark Llemit’s layup with a three-pointer to cut La Salle’s deficit to one, 74-73, with 1:27 remaining.

UST, however, responded with crucial defensive stops and four points from Akowe and Amiel Acido to restore a 78-73 cushion with 14.3 seconds left.

The Green Archers still refused to go quietly as Macalalag’s layup counted after Akowe was called for goaltending, keeping La Salle within one possession at 78-75 with 9.7 seconds remaining.

Acido then calmly sank his free throws to seal the victory for the Growling Tigers.

“After our loss against UP, we worked on our mistakes in the first game,” said Acido, who posted a well-rounded line of 19 points, seven rebounds, seven assists, and two steals.

Akowe finished with 18 points, 10 rebounds, and three steals, while one-and-done Landyn Jumawan, a 6-foot-4 US NCAA Division I talent from Northwestern State, contributed 10 points, four rebounds, and two steals.

Vhoris Marasigan led La Salle with 16 points, although 11 of those came in the first half.

Cortez added 13 points, five assists, four rebounds, and three steals but shot just 3-for-13 from the field.

Earl Abadam also scored 13 points on 5-for-14 shooting, while Pablo and Macalalag chipped in 10 points apiece.

After an impressive debut in last Sunday’s win over National University, rookie Joaquin Tovera finished with four points on 2-of-5 shooting.

With Green Archers Doy Dungo and Pablo and Growling Tiger Koji Buenaflor set to represent the Philippines alongside former UST standout Nic Cabañero in the Aichi-Nagoya 20th Asian Games men’s 3x3 tournament starting Monday, both teams will take a two-week break before returning to action on 30 September at the same Pasay venue.