Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
Alvin Pasaol set the Philippine basketball scene ablaze after his 49-point outburst on Wednesday.
Former UAAP standouts were nonetheless impressed with the feat from University of the East forward even if it came with a 106-100 loss to La Salle.
Two-time UAAP MVP Kiefer Ravena, whose career-best was 38 points in Season 77 back in 2014, tweeted: “49 is already hard to do. But in 20/30 FG% and in 32 mins? Well I be damned.”
Fellow two-time UAAP MVP Bobby Ray Parks, who only scored as high as 35 in Season 75 in 2012, hoped that the guard could have broken the half-century mark, as he tweeted: “Let Pasaol get his 50 piece!”
Pasaol’s 49 points on an efficient 20-of-30 shooting, that went with top of eight rebounds, is the most points scored by a Red Warrior since James Yap’s 36 in UAAP Season 65 in 2002.
In terms of scoring, he also surpassed Paolo Mendoza, who had a 48-point performance for UP in 1999, the legendary duel of UE legend Allan Caidic, who had 46, and UST great Pido Jarencio, who answered with 48 markers, in Game 3 of the UAAP Season 47 Finals in 1984.
But Pasaol came six points short of the record held by now-Mapua assistant coach Ed Cordero.
Cordero fired an eye-popping 54 points in his heyday with the then-UST Glowing Goldies to set the long-standing UAAP feat in 1979.
Letran coach Jeff Napa, who owns the highest scoring output in the past two decades after firing 43 points for National U in 2002 in Season 65, meanwhile, sees this as an opportunity for Pasaol to make a difference for the 0-6 Red Warriors.
“It’s a great motivation for him so that he can work harder in his career and help his team,” he said.