UNEXPECTED for many was Janrey Pasaol emerging as the UAAP Season 88 men's basketball MVP.
But truth be told, even he was caught off guard.
"Kung 'di inaasahan ng iba, ako pa ba?," the 22-year-old Davaoeno said on Sunday when he received the award at Mall of Asia Arena.
Indeed, the sophomore guard came out of nowhere and snatched the top individual plum this season, besting fancied bets like Mike Phillips of La Salle, Jake Figueroa of National U, and Nic Cabanero of University of Santo Tomas.
This timeline was really not on the cards for Pasaol given the changes that occured in Far Eastern U, most notably the departure of his close friend Veejay Pre.
To him, all he wanted was to keep the Tamaraws competitive with all his might and sustain the gains that they've made last season under coach Sean Chambers.
Benefitting from that priceless trust, Pasaol just balled out, averaging 15.4 points, a league-best 7.5 assists, 4.1 rebounds, and 2.1 steals, all while keeping FEU competitive in this wild and wooly campaign.
And boy they did.
With Pasaol as the anchor, Jorick Bautista being as lethal as ever, Mo Konateh manning the paint, and first-year forward Kirby Mongcopa filling everything in between, the green-and-gold proved to be a handful this season and was actually a win away from making it to the postseason.
FEU-ture is now
But as much as a surprise as this was for Pasaol, he remains ever grateful in giving praise to those who stood by him since Day 1 - his family, his school, his coach, and his teammates included.
Surely, sky is the limit for Pasaol after this plum but he made it clear that he wants more come Season 89.
And it starts with no less than making it to the Final Four next year.
"Siyempre masaya naman tayo sa award, pero yun nga, ganito, bonus na lang. Mas eager ako na manalo para sa team, na makapag-compete kami sa Final Four," he said.
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