Mariano de Pablos was a proud man after leading Estudiantes to a morale-boosting victory in his first league match in charge of the team this weekend.

De Pablos took over the reins at Estudiantes earlier this month after replacing Pedro Martinez, who was dismissed following a run of 10 defeats in 11 ACB matches.

The 32-year-old De Pablos' first senior match at the helm resulted in a 95-70 EuroCup triumph over BC Siauliai last week, and the new boss made it two wins out of two on Saturday when Estu downed Caja San Fernando 91-78.

"It is a dream to obtain my first victory in the ACB, and more so because the win was so important for the team," said De Pablos, whose side improved to 8-13 following the result, although they are still 14th in the standings.

"It was a key game for us," he said.

"We have not changed our tactics much. We have recovered some things.

"We have a good team for transitional play."

Estu had looked to be on course for another defeat as they trailed by six points at 42-36 following the first two quarters.

But an inspired display in the third stanza saw Estu outscore their opponents 34-17 to wrestle away the visiting side's advantage.

"In the first half each side waged their own particular war, although we had serious problems with rebounding," De Pablos said.

"The key has been in the third quarter because we have dominated the boards and we have been able to run a lot."

De Pablos admits there are areas his team need to improve on though, and is looking for more from Carlos Suarez and Caio Torres.

Suarez contributed just two points and one rebound against Caja, while Torres fared only marginally better, scoring seven points and hauling down three rebounds.

"Carlos has not been at a good level, but he must help us to be better," said the new coach on his club's website.

"Caio must also improve his quality because with him our defense is different.

"I have confidence in those two and both, who are going to enter the rotations, must help us to get better."

Estu are back in action on Tuesday when they go to Belgian side Liege Basket in the EuroCup.

They will be looking to make it five wins out of six in Group I.

After that, the Madrid-based side will hope to continue their ACB resurgence next weekend at Alta Gestion Fuenlabrada.

"We have to recover the counter-attack as part of our armoury. When we have put ourselves ahead in the scoring the players have freed themselves and played better," De Pablos said.

"I hope that we have overcome our doubts with this win because the team has been better mentally and physically."