MANILA, Philippines — Back in July last year, then-PBA aspirant Mark Nonoy bared his dream – to match up against his childhood idol, Jayson Castro.
On Wednesday evening, Nonoy finally competed against Castro, who, like him, is also a speedy ballhandler who can give his team buckets.
And the Terrafirma Dyip rookie showed out in the best game of his life thus far.
Nonoy finished with a career-high 33 points on 10-of-13 shooting, to go with four assists, four rebounds and a steal in 24 minutes off the bench.
But more than the individual performance, he was able to help the Dyip finally tally a win in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup, shocking Castro’s TNT Tropang Giga, 117-108.
After the game, Nonoy relished the time he was able to compete against his childhood hero for the first time.
“Perhaps I was inspired by Jason Castro because it was our first time competing. Since childhood, I have been watching him. Since grade school, high school. He’s one of the PBA players that I was inspired by,” he told reporters in Filipino.
“I became confident because I wanted to challenge him. He's my idol. I am very thankful that I was able to play well,” he added.
During the game, Castro gave him pieces of advice – from one quick guard to another.
“He told me to have good decision-making and control my speed.”
During the contest, Nonoy connected on 5-of-6 3-pointers and 2-of-3 4-pointers.
Castro, for his part, finished with 11 points in 23 minutes and 38 seconds of play.
And with the career-best outing, Nonoy’s future is bright in the league.
“I worked on this. This is a dream for me. When I got here, I wanted to build my name and I will do whatever it takes to help my team,” he said.
“The team got better because of our shooting. We were able to connect. So, maybe, I belong in this league.”
The Dyip ended their Commissioner’s Cup campaign with a 1-11 record, while snapping TNT’s six-game win streak.
The Tropang Giga dropped to 6-3.