UAAP stars turn back NCAA counterparts
Straight from his high school graduation, Mark Nonoy arrived just in time—the start of the fourth period—to help Team UAAP cement an 86-83 victory over Team NCAA in the Filoil Flying V Preseason Cup All-Star Game on Friday.
“He’s a jitterbug,” UAAP coach Franz Pumaren of Adamson said when asked about Nonoy, whose pass to a streaking Simon Camacho after a missed jumper by NCAA’s JC Marcelino led to the game’s final two points.
Nonoy, who will remain with University of Santo Tomas and quarterback the senior team after a decorated stint in high school, finished with eight points despite coming in late for the match.
The UAAP selection was up by six, 84-78, going into the final two minutes, but Marcelino spearheaded a wild rally at the end that had the NCAA stars within a point, 84-83, with 29 seconds remaining.
NCAA had a shot at taking the lead after forcing a shotclock violation on UAAP, but Marcelino missed an off-balanced jumper that led to the Nonoy-Camacho connection.
Nonoy said he made it a point to rush to the game after his graduation because “I really wanted to experience playing in the All-Star game with my idols.”
Andrei Caracut was named the game’s MVP after piling up 12 points, two rebounds and two assists.
