MANILA - The De La Salle Green Archers were determined to avoid another slip-up after a shock defeat to the University of the East last week.

They vented their ire on Far Eastern University on Saturday, leading by as much as 31 points en route to an 87-70 triumph. The win hiked their record to 3-2 in the UAAP Season 85 tournament, keeping them within striking distance of the league leaders.

According to head coach Derick Pumaren, he let his players dwell on the loss to the Red Warriors, which came just two days after they defeated arch-rivals Ateneo de Manila University for the first time since 2017.

"I just wanted them to let them think of what happened," said Pumaren, who was sick on the day of La Salle's loss to UE and missed his team's practices in the next two days.

"It was more of talking to them, telling them, making them realize things. If you wanna be in the top teams, if you wanna be a champion-caliber team, we cannot choose games," he stressed. "We gotta be prepared, we gotta be ready for every game. Whoever we play, we should be ready."

• GAME RECAP: La Salle outclasses FEU for bounce-back win

Schonny Winston acknowledged that losing to the Red Warriors was "a reality check for our team," and the experience afforded them many lessons. In particular, they were made to realize that in Season 85, any team can beat any team.

"Every team can come at you, any team can come out here and beat you at any tight. Teams are so good this go-around, and you're gonna have to come out and battle every night and be prepared for a dogfight," said Winston, who had 23 points and 14 rebounds against FEU.

"That's what we got from the UE game; we gotta come out every game and play every game like it's the Ateneo game," he added.

As disappointed as he was with the loss to the Red Warriors, Pumaren was pleased with how the Green Archers. They led nearly wire-to-wire and were in full control by the break, with a 25-point lead.

The Tamaraws got the lead down to 15 in the final three minutes but La Salle showed no panic and put the game out of reach through Kevin Quiambao.

"I'm happy with the win today. The boys showed that we can bounce back," said Pumaren. "I think they were able to sulk on the loss and we're able to bounce back today."

La Salle returns to action next Wednesday against National University.

UAAP Season 85 is streaming on iWantTFC every Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday, available for Premium users outside the Philippines.