Ateneo de Manila University eliminated University of the East from Final Four contention in the UAAP Season 86 Men's Basketball Tournament following a 80-74 escape on Wednesday at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.

The Blue Eagles secured their third straight win to rise to 7-6, strengthening their hold of the fourth spot and forcing at least a playoff for the last semis slot.

Adamson University (5-7) will fight for dear life later in the day against National University at 6 p.m. A loss will give Ateneo the final ticket.

Despite the win, though, head coach Tab Baldwin focused more on what his team did not do.

"I though we looked a little bit disinterested today. There was no excuse for that. It's disappointing turning the ball over as much as we did and not be more dominant in the rebounding when they're missing Precious and we had a significant size disadvantage," said Baldwin.

After Kai Ballungay's triple that pushed the Blue Eagles lead to 70-55 with 7:31 left in the game, the Red Warriors, through Noy Remogat, Ethan Galang, Allen Maglupay, and Wello Lingolingo, fought back and inched to within four with 2:15 remaining, 68-72.

However, Sean Quitevis and Mason Amos answered back for Ateneo with a single free throw and a post move shot, respectively, to restore some order with 50 seconds to go, 75-68.

Galang's three-pointer with 19.8 seconds pulled UE to just five, 71-76, before Jared Brown split his freebies to put Ateneo ahead by six with 18.2 seconds on the clock, 77-71.

But in the ensuing play off a timeout, Galang received the ball on the left corner and stepped out of bounds as Brown drained his free throws on the other end.

"I just feel like we weren't as locked in and personally, I made some turnovers that I made because I wasn't locked in and that's what killed us," said Brown on their fourth frame performance, where they was outscored, 26-18. He fired 21 points on six threes.

Ballungay added 15 points, five assists, and four rebounds, while Joseph Obasa scored 13, grabbed 11 rebounds, and recorded two blocks.

Meanwhile, the Red Warriors dropped to 4-9 to miss the post-season for the 14th straight year. This was their third consecutive defeat as well.

Remogat led UE anew with 22 points to go with seven assists, five rebounds, and three steals while Lingolingo chipped in 14 points.

Galang and Sawat contributed 12 points apiece but the latter struggled from the field, going just 3-of-17.

Precious Momowei, the 6-foot-9 Nigerian center of UE, was suspended for this game after committing his second unsportsmanlike foul of the season last Sunday against De La Salle University.

Ateneo will finish the elimination round against arch-rival De La Salle University on Saturday at the SMART Araneta Coliseum, while UE will end its run against Adamson on Sunday at the same Pasay venue.

The Scores:

Ateneo 80 – Brown 21, Ballungay 15, Obasa 13, Espinosa 5, Koon 5, Chiu 5, Amos 4, Nieto 3, Quitevis 3, Gamber 3, Credo 2, Celis 1, Lazaro 0, Bongo 0, Tuano 0.

UE 74 – Remogat 22, Lingolingo 14, Galang 12, Sawat 12, Alcantara 6, Maglupay 5, Langit 2, Tulabut 1, Cruz-Dumont 0, Spandonis 0, Cabero 0, Gilbuena 0, Manalang 0.

Quarterscores: 18-21, 42-34, 62-48, 80-74