IT was a personal sacrifice that Mark Nonoy had to make for his team.
The veteran playmaker missed the first birthday and baptism of his first-born son in Iloilo as he had to play for EcoOil La Salle in the the PBA D-League Aspirants Cup Finals at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City.
Nonoy scored 14 of his 16 points in the first half to set the tone for the Green Archers' runaway 108-82 win over Marinerong Pilipino-San Beda on Thursday that moved them a win away from wrapping up the best-of-three finals.
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Nonoy was 4-of-9 from three point range in the lopsided victory that enabled the Green Archers to take a 1-0 lead in the title series.
That should be enough consolation for him as he had to miss the birthday celebration of his son in Negros Occidental.
"First birthday niya pero hindi ako naka-attend. Pero okay lang part ng sacrifice siguro yun," said Nonoy.
"Dagdag motivation na lang sa akin yun," he said, adding he offered his game to his son.
Game 2 is on Monday as the Green Archers try to wrap up the series and retain their title.
La Salle team manager Raffy Villavicencio later offered to shoulder the airfare of Nonoy's family just to be with him here in Manila.
The gesture almost brought Nonoy to tears, but he politely turned it down.
"Dito na lang ako sa Manila. May game pa sa Monday, e," he said.
The scores:
EcoOil La Salle (108) - M. Philips 19, Nonoy 16, Austria 13, Quiambao 12, David 9, Gollena 9, Nelle 7, Abadam 7, Alao 5, Cortez 4, Nwankwo 4, B Philips 3, Manuel 0, Escandor 0.
Marinerong Pilipino-San Beda (82) - Cortez 18, Cuntapay 16, Payosing 13, Royo 13, Andrada 8, Alfaro 6, Visser 4, Jopia 3, Tagala 1, Alloso 0, Jalbuena 0, Puno 0.
Quarterscores: 28-18; 59-33: 77-61; 108-82.
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