FILE PHOTO –Photo from gohighlanders.com
MANILA, Philippines—Filipino-American Mike Magpayo created history on Wednesday (Manila time) when he became the first coach of Asian descent to win an NCAA Division I basketball game.
Magpayo steered University of California, Riverside to a 57-42 upset win over University of Washington, which entered the game as 10-point favorites in Las Vegas as per Yahoo!.
The Highlanders limited the Huskies to a paltry 29.6 percent shooting with senior center Jock Perry putting up 21 points in the win.
Magpayo’s parents were born in the Philippines and eventually moved to California where the Highlanders coach was born.
A Los Angeleno by birth, the 41-year-old Magpayo went to school at UC Santa Barbara and became an assistant coach or college basketball administrator with Columbia, Campbell, San Francisco, and eventually UC Riverside.
UC Riverside named Magpayo as its acting head coach in July 2020 when former head coach David Patrick took a position with Eric Musselman’s staff in Arkansas.