Perpetual Help’s Rey Barcuma leads the Altas’ first win in NCAA Season 98. –NCAA/GMA PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines—Perpetual Help has a new guard to rely on for its NCAA Season 98 men’s basketball tournament run.
Rey Barcuma, who played off the bench, exploded for a hefty 22 points on a staggering 90.9 percent shooting clip (10-for-11) in the Altas’ 84-60 win against Jose Rizal University on Sunday.
The Bukidnon native said it was surreal for him to score that much, especially since his primary role was to be a defensive stopper.
“Actually, I didn’t expect it because when I got in, I was tasked to defend. I was thinking of getting stops. It’s just a bonus for me to score,” Barcuma said.
Barcuma, who is monikered as “Peter Pan” due to his high vertical leap, saw only a few minutes with the Altas last season.
With swingman Kim Aurin’s graduation looming, the need for a new primary scorer is up for grabs and in the Altas’ first game of the season, they saw Barcuma, who still has three years of eligibility left after Season 98.
“He told me he’ll just defend but he got 22 points. That’s just on defense, what more if he goes on offense?” Perpetual head coach Myk Saguiguit said in post-game with Jielo Razon and Barcuma beside him.
“But really, I’m overwhelmed. I’m going to be forever grateful for these players (Razon and Barcuma). Any coach will love these guys. A lot,” he added.
Razon added 13 markers and seven boards in the Perpertuals’ first season win.