The Road to Championship (part 7)

With the final game of the season, NY Noks faces Team Bangan, with nothing on the line for both teams, team Bangan decided to default the game which gives the NY Noks the easy victory. The NY Noks coaching staff decided to have an exhibition game instead to get the team ready for the upcoming playoff match against Team MAC. NY Noks enters the playoff with a 5 - 2 record and with the number 3 seed. JP Pangilinan said "sayang di lumaban yung team Bangan, gusto pa naman namin maglaro kahit for fun lang".

The Road to Championship (part 6)

NY Noks Elimates 2nd Seeded Bearwolves, Gains Playoff Spot
The Ateneo college covered courts was abuzz with celebration as the NY Noks defeated the Bearwolves, 27-26, earning them a spot in the upcoming Senior's C playoffs.NY Noks easily gained the upperhand in the first quarter of play with starting point guard Miko Sabado making the crucial defensive plays, and dishing out several assists to his team mates. Relying on their fastbreak game and their outside shooting the CTC based Noks zoomed to a 12-4 lead.The Bearwolves was able to slowly crawl back into the game during the second quarter outscoring the Noks, 10-2, to tie the ball game at 14 a piece at the end of the half.It was only in the third quarter that the Noks were able to regain their scoring touch, however the Bearwolves proved to be a determined opponent. Switching to a 3-2 defense instead of their usual 2-3 formation, the Bearwolves forced the Noks to commit a lot of turnovers and convert these mistakes into points. The Bearwolves could have done more damage if not for the shot-blocking skills of Noks star forward and MVP candidate Rod Coronel. The third quarter ended with a 22-18 score in favor of Bearwolves.With star shooting guard JP Pangilinan being shackled by the relentless defense of Bearwolves, the Noks coaching staff decided to field Roy Rollan at the start of the fourth period. As the time was winding down and the Bearwolves leading the game at score of 24-20, the coaching staff agreed on letting Roy take the crucial shots, scoring 4 of the team's next 5 points.With less than a minute to go in the game and the Bearwolves still leading by a point at 26-25, Miko Sabado decided to run a play for Rod Coronel. After receiving the ball inside the shaded lane, Rod was able to find Roy alone in the corner for a 20-footer that proved to be the game winner. The Bearwolves had a chance for a final shot but the ball was stolen by Jopoy Pandarawan.With the win, the Noks are now secured of being the third seed for the upcoming IAC playoffs. The win was made even more dramatic by the fact that this is the first trip by the NY Noks to the playoffs, who dropped the Choopuppies franchise name after being eliminated the past two seasons with a 0-7 win-loss card.

The Road to Championship (part 5)

1 more win was what the Nokkers needed to get a playoff berth but it would have to come at the expense of the El Grande team. The 1st quarter started out pretty strong for the NY Noks with the starting 5 doing everything from scoring outside, inside and rebounding all over the court and with JP Pangilinan and Miko Sabado leading the attack and pressuring El Grande's ball handlers, the CTC boys got onto a head start with an 8 point lead. The second quarter was a different story with the El Grande boys lead by star center Paolo Salonga pounding the ball inside and catching up to the Nokkers and taking the lead by 3 going into halftime. The 3rd quarter was an even battle all through out but in the final minutes of the quarter,the El Grande team added 3 points to their lead, leading by 6 going into the final quarter. The coaching staff of NY Noks decided to pressure the ball handlers of the El Grande 5 which proved to be successful in the 1st quarter. The Noks team used man to man full court press and cut the lead to 3 with a minute remaining in the game. The Noks team orchestrated a wide open 3 point shot play for JP Pangilinan but the El Grande team was quick to react, double teaming JP Pangilinan in the right corner. JP Pangilinan saw Rod Coronel free on top of the key and passed it to him to take a desperation 3 point shot which hit nothing but net. With the score tied, the NY Noks decided to drop the press and use honest defense in the dying seconds of the game, but Guiller Salumbides pressured El Grande's leading scorer Miguel Bernundo and accidentally fouled him which made the final 2 free throws to ice the game for his team. It was a heart breaking loss for the Noks team which needed to win 1 of the last 2 games to enter the playoffs. JP Pangilinan led all scorers with 18 points.