Alvin Pasaol’s 49-point outing last Wednesday was a personal achievement — and it was also the ray of sunshine for the struggling University of the East Red Warriors.
“When we were in practice the atmosphere was different. You can feel the excitement nung practice. Even though it was a loss, you feel good about it,” shared fourth-year Red Warriors head coach Derrick Pumaren.
“That’s the feeling of the team when we practiced nung Thursday and Friday.”
And on Saturday night, the worst-shooting team in the UAAP this season looked very different against the University of Santo Tomas Growling Tigers.
Pasaol continued the heater he was on, dropping 32 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. Supporting him were floor general Philip Manalang, forward Mark Olayon, and sparkplug Jason Varilla.
According to his teammates, seeing Pasaol’s out-of-body outing against the De La Salle University Green Archers was a wake-up call for them, making them believe that they can finally win one.
“Nag-49 na siya nung last game namin pero talo pa rin kami. Kailangan namin tumulong sa kanya para yung 49 niya mas maganda kasi panalo,” said Olayon, who finished with 15 points and six rebounds.
“Living legend yan eh.”
“Kagaya kanina nung pumutok ulit si Alvin, nahulog yung tira niya, siya agad yung hinahanap namin. Tinutulungan din kasi namin siya,” added Manalang, who added 20 points and seven assists.
On the other hand, Pasaol also realized that he can’t do it alone, and it showed when UE were able to pick up their first win, taking a 96-91 victory over UST.
“Gumanda yung laro siguro sa mga teammates ko yun kasi sobrang laking tiwala nila sa akin.
“Di ko naman masasabi na go-to guy na ba, ‘di naman siguro ganun kasi lahat naman kami nagco-contribute. Bawal kasi kay Manong yung isa lang yung gumagawa, kailangan talaga whole kaming lahat,” shared Pasaol. “Di kami mananalo kung ako lang mag-isa. Nanalo kami dahil madami kami, nagtutulungan kami.”
And coach Derrick hopes that the high and the energy that the Red Warriors are showing will not be temporary, saying that it should be their norm come the second round.
“I hope that we can continue that. As I’ve said, I’m hoping that the change is not temporary. We have to do that, the second round will be next week,” said Pumaren.
“We cannot just be happy with this win. We got the whole second round to play.”
