ATENEO de Manila started hot and weathered a major fightback by the University of the Philippines on the crucial stretch to win, 75-68, and claim the 85th UAAP men’s basketball tournament crown before a mammoth crowd Monday night at the Araneta Coliseum.

Playing without key gunner Zavier Lucero, the UP Fighting Maroons could only watch Ateneo zoom to a 16-point lead after the first canto, and 15 at the half, 47-32.

But the Fighting Maroons, who prevailed over the Blue Eagles in another Game 3 decider in the previous season seven months ago off JD Cagulangan’s buzzer-beating triple, trimmed the halftime deficit to within striking distance following a 20-8 blast in the third canto.

Living up to their moniker, UP fought back real hard and pulled dangerously close to within three, 70-67, after Harold Alarcon put in one of three pressure-packed free throws with 24.1 seconds left.

He then corraled his own miss and drilled that Hail Mary trey that momentarily silenced the wave of blue crowd although Ateneo was still up, 70-67, 20.1 ticks to play.

That was the closest that the Fighting Maroons got as time proved to be a bigger roadblock to realizing their dream of completing a rare second title in two seasons in one year in UAAP history.

Lucero, who just played his final UAAP game last Wednesday and will be on the sidelines for at least a year, sustained the injury in Game 2 of the finals against the Ateneo when he tried to drive past Chris Koon.

Many believed the Game 3 result might have been the other way around had not the 6-foot-7 Lucero gone down in pain at the 8:31 mark of the fourth quarter despite him and Koon not making contact whatsoever in Game 2.

But the tables have turned and Ateneo de Manila University (AdMU) reclaimed the throne it lost to UP seven months ago.