Bo Perasol on Bright Akhuetie leading MVP race: ‘He won’t be happy if we’re not going to F4’

For the first time in a long while, a University of the Phillippines Fighting Maroon is leading the Most Valuable Player race.

Prized recruit Bright Akhuetie is way ahead of the race, as he has amassed 77.0 statistical points to end the first round.

Akhuetie, who is looking to be the first Maroon to win the crown since Eric Altamirano did it back in 1986, is 5.43 SPs ahead of second-running Alvin Pasaol.

In their first game in the second round, the 6-foot-8 Nigerian student-athlete still put up 20 points and eight rebounds against the Ateneo Blue Eagles. However, the Fighting Maroons lost the game 66-83 to go down to sixth in the UAAP Season 80 Men’s Basketball Tournament.

Akhuetie was not available for an interview. But if his head coach Bo Perasol were asked, he knows that the first-year Fighting Maroon would rather make it to the Final Four than win the MVP crown.

“I don’t think Bright is gonna be happy about that if we’re not going to be in the Final Four,” Perasol admitted.

“We all know Bright can rack up numbers, but if it doesn’t translate into us going into the Final Four or winning games, I don’t think he’s gonna be happy about that.”