ANTIPOLO – Mark Nonoy had a night to remember on Wednesday after playing his best game in the PBA thus far while going up against his childhood idol Jayson Castro.
Nonoy fired 33 points, fueled by two fours and five threes, to lift Terrafirma to a 117-108 win over TNT at the Ynares Center.
READ: Terrafirma rides Mark Nonoy's 33 points to claim TNT scalp
Doing it against a player that he looks up to ever since he was a kid made it even more special.
“Siguro na-inspired ako kay Jayson Castro kasi first time namin naglaban,” said the 24-year-old Nonoy, when asked about his source of confidence for Wednesday’s match-up.
“Kumbaga, since childhood ko, napapanood ko na siya since grade school ako. Kumbaga, isa siya sa PBA player na na-inspire ko ‘yung sarili ko dahil sa kanya," he added.
“Kanina, naging confident ako kasi gusto ko ma-challenge kasi idol ko ‘yun. Sobrang thankful ako kasi na-overcome ko, nakapaglaro naman ako ng maayos."
Nonoy’s performance spoiled Castro’s 700th career game in the PBA as Terrafirma concluded the conference with a win, while dealing TNT a shock defeat.
Jayson Castro gives Mark Nonoy advice
Nonoy shared that despite the intense game, he had the opportunity to speak to Castro on the floor, with the 38-year-old and fresh from his PBA Governors’ Cup Finals MVP accomplishment giving him a few advice as well.
“Konting advice lang. Pero more on nung second half, medyo focused na sila kumbaga gusto na nilang dumikit sa amin. Pero nung first half, nag-congratulate ako sa kanya nung timeout. So parang may piece of advice na din naman siya sa akin,” said Nonoy.
When asked what was the advice, Nonoy said he was told by Castro to become a good decision-maker in using his speed.
“Ang sabi niya, decision making and control your speed,” said Nonoy, who has also become known for his speed just like 'The Blur.'
Nonoy played his first conference in the PBA during the Commissioner’s Cup after he finished his commitments with his MPBL ballclub Iloilo.
And the former La Salle and University of Santo Tomas said he will continue to work hard even with his notable performance on Tuesday.
“Tinrabaho ko ‘to eh. Isa ‘to sa pangarap ko. Nung nakatungtong na ako, kailangan ko mag-build ng sariling pangalan, kung ano makakatulong sa team namin. Katulad kanina, napaganda ‘yung team namin dahil sa shooting namin. Nahawa hawa na kami. So siguro, I belong (in) this league siguro,” said Nonoy.
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