MANILA, Philippines -- (UPDATED) The Ateneo Blue Eagles erased a massive deficit to break the hearts of Far Eastern University, 71-65, and move on the cusp of a Final 4 berth in the UAAP Season 85 men's basketball tournament.

Ateneo trailed by as much as 19 points in Sunday's game at the Mall of Asia Arena, but unleashed one of their patented third quarter runs to get back in the game. The Blue Eagles then out-played the Tamaraws down the stretch to snatch the win.

Reigning Most Valuable Player Ange Kouame was superb for the Blue Eagles, with 20 points and 14 rebounds along with a pair of crucial stops in the final minute. Ateneo out-scored FEU, 44-24, in the second half to recover from a flat start.

Ateneo improved to 8-3, assuring them of at least a playoff for a spot in the semifinals. The Tamaraws lost their third straight game to drop to 4-8.

"To be perfectly honest, that win was just heart and some decent execution in the fourth quarter," Ateneo coach Tab Baldwin acknowledged after the game. "Up until then, we were pretty bad, really, in most aspects of the game."

"Things came right at the right time," he added.

FEU led by as much as 19 points, 39-20, off a triple by Xyrus Torres with 2:29 to play in the second quarter. They settled for a 41-27 halftime lead after Ateneo's Paul Garcia knocked down a late three-pointer to give the Blue Eagles some momentum.

It seemed as though FEU weathered Ateneo's initial fightback as a Cholo Anonuevo triple put them up by 18, 54-36, midway through the third quarter. But buoyed by Josh Lazaro's hard work on the boards, the Blue Eagles gained their rhythm and unleashed a stunning 20-1 run bridging the third and fourth frames.

Kouame contributed seven points in the run, including a slam dunk to fire up the Blue Eagles. Garcia's triple with 8:34 to play shifted the lead to Ateneo for the first time, 56-55.

FEU got back-to-back triples from Torres to regain the lead, 61-56, with 6:55 left but Ateneo responded with eight unanswered points for a 64-61 spread with two and half to play. LJay Gonzales helped the Tams rebound, nailing back-to-back layups to knot the count at 65 with 1:22 remaining.

It proved to be FEU's last stand. A pair of charities by Kouame gave Ateneo the lead for good, 67-65, with 63 seconds to play, and the Tamaraws settled for hurried three-pointers in their ensuing possessions. Torres, in particular, had an opportunity to give FEU the lead but his long-distance shot was well-bothered by Kouame.

The reigning MVP also blocked a triple by Gonzales in the final 10 seconds, leading to Dave Ildefonso's game-sealing free throws.

The Blue Eagles shot just 33.3% from the game but made 21 of their 32 free throws -- 11 of which came in the final quarter.

Torres had 19 points, making five of his 15 three-pointers, while Gonzales had 15 points to lead the Tamaraws.

The Scores:

ATENEO 71 -- Kouame 20, Padrigao 13, Andrade 9, Ildefonso 8, Garcia 8, Ballungay 5, Koon 4, Lazaro 2, Daves 2, Chiu 0, Quitevis 0.

FEU 65 -- Torres 19, Gonzales 15, Sleat 10, Tchuente 8, Anonuevo 8, Bagunu 3, Bautista 2, Alforque 0, Sajonia 0, Sandagon 0, Tempra 0.

Quarters: 14-21, 27-41, 49-54, 71-65.