By ADRIAN STEWART CO
EcoOil-La Salle Green Archers rode on the hot hands of Mark Nonoy in the first half to beat Marinerong Pilipino-San Beda Red Lions, 108-82, in Game 1 of the PBA D-League Aspirants Cup finals at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City on Thursday, June 22.
The Negros Occidental’s La Carlota-native guard tallied 16 points, including five three-point conversions, to go with three rebounds and two assists for the defending champions Green Archers.
Nonoy, who is in his final year with the Green Archers, said he is dedicating his strong performance to his one-year-old child, who was christened in Negros Occidental on Thursday.
“Hindi ako nakauwi sa amin pero okay lang kasi sacrifice. Ginawa kong motivation ‘yun. Dedicate ko itong panalo na ito sa anak ko,” Nonoy, who was named as the Player of the Game, said.
Michael Phillips top-scored with 19 points, mostly in the second half, while Cyrus Austria contributed 13 markers for the Green Archers, which took a 1-0 lead in the best-of-three finale.
The Green Archers went to work early as they established a 15-6 advantage behind early hits from Austria and Vincent David before widening it to 28-18 with conversions from Nonoy.
The lead swelled further for the Green Archers in the second frame with Nonoy connecting from outside while also limiting the Red Lions offense to build their largest advantage of 32 points.
The Red Lions opened the third quarter with a huge run behind Jacob Cortez, Aaron James Royo and James Payosing to cut the deficit to 14 points, but the Green Archers had a quick response from Kevin Quiambao and Phillips for a 77-61 upperhand.
De La Salle University leaned on their inside game in the final quarter as consecutive hits from Phillips allowed them to maintain a 93-75 spread before widening it to 26 points courtesy of late shots from Elaijah Gollena.
Cortez top-scored for the Red Lions with 18 points to go with five assists, Damie Cuntapay contributed 16 markers, while Payosing and Royo ended up with 13 points each in the loss.
DLSU 108 — M. Phillips 19, Nonoy 16, Austria 13, Quiambao 12, Gollena 9, David 9, Nelle 7, Abadam 7, Alao 5, Nwankwo 4, Cortez 4, B. Phillips 3, Manuel 0, Escandor 0.
SAN BEDA 82 — Cortez 18, Cuntapay 16, Payosing 13, Royo 13, Andrada 8, Alfaro 6, Visser 4, Jopia 3, Tagala 1, Puno 0, Alloso 0, Jalbuena 0.
Quarterscores: 28-18, 59-33, 77-61, 108-82./ASC, WDJ