JANREY Pasaol shrugged off his near-triple-double numbers on Saturday as he insisted that winning is the only thing that matters for him and Far Eastern University.
“Sa akin naman yung stats, wala naman yun sa akin eh kasi gusto lang naman naming manalo talaga,” he said.
Pasaol put up 24 points, 11 assists, and nine rebounds in the Tamaraws’ UAAP Season 88 debut, but fell to Ateneo, 86-83, in overtime, a tough start for the Morayta crew which squandered a six-point lead with two and a half minutes left to play.
READ: Ladi makes quite the first impression in Ateneo OT win over FEU
FEU coach Sean Chambers was quick to take accountability for the defeat.
“I feel like I need to be able to put our guys in a little bit more position to find cleaner looks because we relied so much on Janrey down the stretch right there,” he said.
“We didn't get enough out of trying to get Mo [Konateh] the ball a little bit more down there and Jorick Bautista, so we got to find ways to get the other guys involved a little bit more.”
Nonetheless, Pasaol’s continued emergence as the team’s lead guard is a positive takeaway that the Tamaraws can build on off of this loss, especially with Chambers giving his full trust to the 5-foot-11 guard.
“Sa akin naman, nagpapasalamat ako kay coach Sean kasi simula last year, malaki na yung tiwala na binibigay niya sa akin. So yung tiwala na binibigay niya sa akin, tinutumbasan ko lang ng kung anong gusto niya and yung mga magagandang halimbawa para sa mga bago,” he said.
But to Chambers, it’s really a no-brainer.
“Janrey is phenomenal. He has a feel for the game and he's built for the moment. I expect him to have a great year this year on all levels,” the former PBA great said.
More than the scoring and playmaking which was expected of Pasaol, Chambers highlighted how much Pasaol has tried to work on his defense, one that was evident in that first game as the Davaoeno court general also collected two steals and one block.
“The fact that he's putting so much interest in improving his defense, it's going to allow his offense to shine a little bit more because when you're able to get out there and work hard and make stops, you put less pressure on your offense,” said the FEU mentor.
“So he won't feel so pressured to be elite all the time offensively and he'll realize more that because of that, he'll be more successful for the team.”
That should only mean trouble for the rest of the league as the Tamaraws look hungrier coming into their next games.
“We'll get better from this. We'll be disappointed from this loss but we know we gotta let it go because we gotta get ready for the next game,” Chambers said.
And count on Pasaol to be at the frontlines once more for FEU.
“Babalik kami sa gym, manonood kami ng mga videos, at doon kami magfo-focus sa next game namin. Yung mga kulang namin, doon namin ii-improve pa,” he said.
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