Jr Bomber pulls off a Kobe, fires 82 points

A high school player from Jose Rizal University established a new scoring mark when he lit up the Astrodome with a stunning 82-point explosion yesterday as the Light Bombers ripped the Mapua Red Robins, 127-49, in the 84th NCAA juniors basketball tournament.

Keith Agovida, an 18-year-old, 6-foot-1 scoring dynamo, made 36 of the 50 shots for a whopping 62.5 percent performance as he shattered the previous high of 71 points posted by Letran Squire Marlon Bola Bola in the 70s.

Agovida’s spectacular feat also eclipsed the 79-point effort by Allan Caidic in the PBA in 1987. It even bettered Los Angeles Lakers’ Kobe Bryant’s 81 points in the NBA.

Agovida, who came into the game norming 30.9 points, turned in quarterscores of 23, 13, 20 and 26, spiking his awesome offensive game with 15 rebounds, five steals and two shot blocks.

“The school and the league are proud of him,” said Jose Rizal board representative Paul Supan of Agovida, who also had five errors in his 37-minute stint.

The win, its seventh in 11 games, clinched Jose Rizal the third Final Four berth while dealing Mapua their 12th straight defeat. – Joey Villar