Jr Bomber pours in record 89 pts

MANILA, Philippines - A Jose Rizal Light Bomber stole the show yesterday, exploding with a league-record 89 points as the team romped away with a 171-43 rout of guest team Arellano U Foundation in the 85th NCAA junior basketball tournament at The Arena in San Juan City.

Joshua Saret, a speedy 5-8 guard, buried 33 of his 54 shots, including 14 triples, to post the highest scoring output in league history. The one-man wrecking crew erased former teammate Keith Agovida’s 82-point mark at the Astrodome on Sept. 4 last year.

Letran’s Marlon Bola Bola slid to No. 3 with 71 points he recorded in the 70s.

To cap the momentous day, Saret finished with a rare quadruple-double effort, including 11 rebounds, 12 assists and 13 steals, the league’s first since Ryan Buenafe, formerly of San Sebastian and now with the Ateneo seniors team in the UAAP, did the feat in 2007.

Saret’s exploits also bested the 79 points unleashed by Allan Caidic in the pros in 1987.

Saret’s scoring spree also eclipsed Los Angeles’ Kobe Bryant’s 81-point explosion in the last NBA season.

Incidentally, Bryant, the 2008 MVP and this year’s NBA finals best player, recently visited the country as part of his Asian Tour.

“We’re proud of him, he will play in our seniors team next year,” said Management Committee member Paul Supan of Jose Rizal, referring to his senior guard.

Saret, who had quarterscores of 22, 21, 19 and 27 points, also made all but one of his 10 free throws. – Joey Villar