By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
Former Hua Siong College of Iloilo superstar Mark Nonoy torched the University of the East (UE) Red Warriors with his hot-shooting from the three-point territory and led the De La Salle University (DLSU) Green Archers to an 86-76 victory in the ongoing UAAP Season 86 men’s basketball tournament last November 12, 2023.
The Negrense guard paid off the trust that head coach Topex Robinson gave him since the first round and finished the crucial victory with a season-high 25 points built from seven drilled three-pointers.
Nonoy led DLSU’s momentum-changing offensive run in the fourth quarter when they only held a slim 64-63 advantage.
Picking up where he left off in the first half where he already balled out for the Green Archers, Nonoy sank three triples to balloon their cushion to 14 points, 77-63.
After the Nonoy shooting frenzy, DLSU dictated the tempo of the match and held the Red Warriors to a shooting slump with their timely perimeter defense adjustments.
Nonoy kicked off the game on a high note after converting his first deuce off a fast break chance and swished in two treys in the second quarter.
As UE fought back and regained the lead, Nonoy joined hands with leading Most Valuable Player (MVP) candidate Kevin Quiambao who once again took over for the Green Archers.
Quiambao’s court vision and timely scoring were on full display and recorded another triple-double stat-line of 17 markers, 19 rebounds, and 12 assists.
Raven Cortez and Evan Nelle also delivered for the Green Archers and added 11 points each, helping DLSU rack its sixth straight victory in the second round of the UAAP.
On the other hand, Rey Remogat had another monster finish for the Red Warriors after contributing 22 points and 10 assists but Nonoy’s production proved to be too much for UE in the end game.
