Bombs away: JRU’s Saret fires 89 points in NCAA jrs

On the day of the longest solar eclipse ever recorded, records were also being eclipsed on Wednesday in the NCAA juniors basketball tournament or probably in the annals of Philippine caging. Jose Rizal U’s Point guard Joshua Saret lived up to his billing as the most promising junior player in the league when he posted a quadruple-double topped by 89 points in the Light Bombers' 171-43 win over the Angeles U Foundation Junior Danes at the Filoil Flying V Arena. Saret spiked his massive point production with 11 rebounds, 12 assists and 13 steals to post the league's first ever quadruple-double since Ryan Buenafe of San Sebastian, who now plays for Ateneo, did it two years ago. In his feat of overshadowing the league's best production, Saret posted a 50 percent clip from the two point area and a 78 percent success rate from beyond the arc as he sank 19 of his 26 attempts.

Saret now stands as the league's best scorer since former teammate Keith Agovida bombed the Astrodome with 82 points on Sept. 4 last season. Third among the best point production is Letran’s Marlon Bola Bola who scored 71 points four decades ago. But Saret's record bested even those posted in the country's professional league. The Light Bomber's production is better than the 79 points scored by Allan “The Triggerman" Caidic in the PBA in 1987. Caidic's record was the highest by any Filipino in any tournament. And even Lakers' superstar Kobe Bryant's best of 81 fell short at Saret's feat. “It’s good for the school, we’re proud of him," said Jose Rizal’s board representative Paul Supan. “We’re excited to have him in our seniors’ team because he has already committed playing (for JRU) next year." Because of Saret's record-breaking performance, JRU Bombers head coach Ariel Vanguardia is now unsure if they can still keep the point guard within the JRU fold. "Kailangang maglabas na ng kotse kay Saret," said Vanguardia, adding that Ateneo is now trying to recruit the graduating high school student. "Ang sabi ko kay Paul na kailangan namin si Saret next year dahil mawawala na si Cagoco," added Vanguardia who is referring to one of the Bombers top scorer Mark Cagoco. – Perry Legaspi, GMANews.TV