MERALCO Head Coach Norman Black expects heavy and big time contributions from the 6-foot-3, 214-lb Alvin Pasaol who the Bolts picked at No. 9 in the recent Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Rookie Draft.
A burly and aggressive all-around player, Pasaol will bring to the Bolts’ arsenal an inside game he mastered and polished playing 3×3 for more than two years,
“I’ll put him in a category of the guys that came out of the UAAP [University Athletic Association of the Philippines] like big time scorer James Yap, Terrence Romeo, Allan Caidic and Kenneth Duremdes, guys who can fly out and score,” Black told BusinessMirror on Tuesday. “So I am hoping he will have an impact on our team particularly on the offensive end of the court.”
Pasaol, 25, is playing out of University of the East like Yap and Caidic and was a former Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas 3×3 star. He is expected to give a new dimension to Meralco’s offensive game that would complement high-leaping guard Chris Newsome, sweet-shooting Allein Maliksi and another al-around wingman, Mac Belo.
“He will bring us an offensive threat that we really haven’t had the past years,” added Black of Pasaol who averaged 24.4 points, 11.0 rebounds and 1.9 steals per game for UE in UAAP Season 81.
Asked how he would fare on defense, Black said “I will have to find out.”
“I know he is a good defensive rebounder but I haven’t seen him defend individually,” he said.
The Bolts have been doing scrimmages at the Meralco Gym at the Ortigas Center since last week but have yet to play five-on-five.
Pasaol, through his agent Marvin Espiritu, is expected to formally sign his contract with Meralco this week.
“We’re looking at either a two or three-year rookie contract. But we still need to finalize it,” said Espiritu, who didn’t elaborate.