FILE – Alvin Pasaol during his UAAP days with the UE Red Warriors. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
MANILA, Philippines—Alvin Pasaol, for much of his career, has always been known as the affable bruiser who can score bunches.
But with his PBA career beckoning, Pasaol is advised to become that lean mean scoring machine for Meralco, where he signed a two-year deal.
Bolts head coach Norman Black said Pasaol will be well suited to play in the wings in the PBA as his 6-foot-2 frame will be too little to play as a power forward in the highly physical league.
“He’ll be undersized if he plays the power forward, although he has played much of his collegiate career as a power forward,” said Black of the number 9 pick in the Draft in a story on the league’s website.
“But Alvin is so talented and has good outside shooting, so we’re planning of using him either at No. 2 or 3 spots with Mac Belo and Cliff Hodge playing the power forward and small forward spots.”
Pasaol was burly scorer during his days with University of the East, using his girth to punish smaller defenders in the collegiate scene.
He averaged more than 20 points a game in his final year with the Red Warriors and once scored 49 points in a game against De La Salle.
To answer Black’s demands, Pasaol has put in the work and heeded not only the workout plans of the Bolts’ trainers but also of fellow UE product Paul Lee, who also went through a significant weight loss last year.
Magnolia’s star guard has noticed that Pasaol has gained some weight prior to joining the draft and advised the rookie to shave off some excess fat before the season starts.
“Of course my priority is my weight,” said Pasaol in Filipino. “I want to get thinner. The PBA is a fast paced game so I have to be in condition.”