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Sharks pull away late to beat Golden Titi

Teething Pain Arena
2:28

The San Nicolas Sharks had to rely on a furious fourth quarter assault to wrest the game away from Big 8 rivals Golden Titi, 100-89, on their own Teething Pain Arena to further cement their stranglehold of the top seed in the conference.

Powered early on by Yoel Marí's 8 points in the period, the hosts were able to keep the game close after one, 21-20. In the second quarter, it was Rijad Kovačević the started percolating, scoring 12 points in the quarter enabling Golden Titi to lake the lead at halftime, 47-45.

The two skippers for the hosts kept their momentum going even as play resumed in the 3rd canto, extending their lead to as high as 10 points, 64-54 when Markos Papatrichas led a quick 9-4 run to keep his team within short distance after three, 68-63.

Papatrichas would go off for 11 of the Sharks' 37 points in the payoff period while their counterparts can only maintain their regular production throughout the game. Their defense would hold strong as well in the most opportune time, allowing zero points for over four minutes of game time while scoring 14 of their own in the same time span. This allowed the visiting Sharks to go from being down 74-65 to being up 79-74, taking the game for good from that point on.

Papatrichas would end up with game-high 29 points along with five boards, five assists, two blocked shots and a steal. His one-two punch partner Aldvydas Saulytis would be a steady presence all-game long with 26 markers, 15 rebounds and five blocked shots. Rookie CM Fabella had another decent showing himself with a double-double of 12 points and 14 boards.

Despite their famed backcourt duo combining for 50 points, Golden Titi could not find a consistent third scoring option to seal the deal as the next double digit contributor was Aron Panlilio with 13.

"They were feeding off the energy from their crowd early on." said team manager Ceruver. "This is a tough house to play in and they showed that today. We had to muster an exceptional quarter to grab the win from their team. This is a good barometer for us as with the sudden folding of Gilas Jazz, we might see this team instead deep in the upcoming playoffs." he further added.

In what could most likely be the Conference Final protagonists for the Big 8, the San Nicolas Sharks have swept the regular season series as the two franchises gear up for their final stretch of games in the elimination round. The win puts the Sharks at 15-1 for the season, further distancing themselves from the rest of the pack. They will face the successors to the Gilas Jazz franchise, the Windy City Pirates on the 15 of March.

Sharks lose key bigman Saulytis in win over Sta. Ana Champ

League III.10 Elimination Round
SN Forum
00:12

The San Nicolas Sharks notch their 18th win for the season with their 100-49 annihilation of Sta. Ana Champ at the SN Forum. But the victory came with a hefty cost as they will not have the services of starting bigman Aldvydas Saulytis possibly for the remainder of the season with a broken nose that he suffered in the opening quarter.

The 27-year old beanpole from Lithuania suffered the injury while scoring on an and-one dunk with just over two minutes having passed in the first quarter. He was immediately attended to by League and team doctors before being diagnosed with the injury and having to leave the game.

While the Sharks have won the game comfortably, with five double-digit scorers, led by Tom Proffitt's 23 and Markos' 19 markers, as well as eight players scoring at least six points, the atmosphere changed considerably as the hometown crowd mulled over the possibility of their resident center being sidelined.

"The injury will set him back for at least two weeks as per doctor's estimates." said team manger Ceruver. This would mean that the 6'9" tower may miss their playoff game against this same squad. "We are optimistic that he can come back for the rest of our games this season, but for now, we wish him a speedy recovery as that is just as annoying as it is painful of an injury." he further added.

"This is definitely not the thing we want to deal with entering the postseason." said Markos Papatrichas. "We want to keep the team as healthy as possible for we will need the contribution of everybody come playoff time." he said in the postgame presser.

The game was a possible preview of the Big 8 Conference playoff between the #1 and #4 seed, and with Saulytis's injury putting his appearance in the game in doubt, this could prove to be crucial in tilting the odds of the playoff tie between the two sides.

At this stage, the San Nicolas Sharks can seal their third Big 8 Conference #1 seed in four seasons with a win against their next League opponent, CVHRA Warriors on Saturday, 26th of March. From there, two more League gamedays are pending before the knockout rounds begin.

Sharks lose another starter in win over markandmay

League III.10 Elimination Round
SN Forum
06:34

Just a week after losing their star bigman Aldvydas Saulytis to a broken nose, the San Nicolas Sharks will also be without their starting skipper Markos Papatrichas entering their final League assignment as well and possibly their opening playoff game in the Conference Semifinal.

This major development made the victory against markandmay to the tune of a 117-37 beatdown seem secondary as the Sharks improve their record to 20-1 for the season. The Greek guard for the Sharks suffered the injury at the 10:23 mark of the second quarter after a shooting foul by markandmay's Felicito Daduya. In a sad twist of fate however, Daduya himself would be injured later on in the same quarter off of a flagrant foul by Marc Cerezo. Papatrichas had six points, a rebound and two steals prior to the injury.

"I got hit while going up to take a jumpshot and landed awkwardly. Afterwards, I felt my back start to tighten and I could not move properly." said Papatrichas in the postgame presser. "I just got word that this may take a week to heal as it was most likely a torqued muscle that needs to be rehabbed." he further added.

"This is just a gut punch to our team just as the bigger matches are approaching." said team manager Ceruver. "It just goes to show that no matter how careful you are pacing these guys throughout the season, it's not going to matter because injuries are a chance happenstance and can occur regardless of how prepared you are."

Their other injured star Saulytis is well on his way to recovery and is expected to be back next week, but based on the timetable estimated for both Sharks stalwarts, they may most likely not be able to participate in the opening playoff game in about a week's time.

"We would like to have everyone available for the remaining games but that is beyond our control already. We just have to grind out these games and hope that we can buy those two time to return and help us in the long run." said veteran swingman Tom Proffitt, who had 10 points, 10 boards and five dimes in the dominant win. "They are crucial to our success all season and it sucks to see them sidelined at this point of the season, but we have to battle for them and give them a chance to come back."

The Cavite quintet will face ho as their last assignment of the regular season before taking on Sta. Ana Champ in their knockout conference semifinal matchup next week.

Sharks drop title challenge in heartbreaking loss to DiAblo Master

League III.10 Finals
SN Forum
23:16

The San Nicolas Sharks have bowed down in another instant classic Saturday night as they lose Game 2 of the League III.10 Finals to newly-crowned champions DiAblo Master, 102-97.

In front of their hometown crowd Saturday night, the Sharks looked to erase the memory of their Game 1 loss on the road, where they dropped the match in an epic showdown, 114-107 in overtime. But the visitors took the upper hand early with their outside gunners Martin Winböhla and Dinos Mpaloukos and Pat Paul connecting with their perimeter shots, but a balanced attack for the most part from the Bacoor-based franchise kept the game close with just a one-point lead for the visitors, 21-20.

The same triumvirate would continue their hot shooting in the second quarter, while the Sharks can only get consistent point production from Markos Papatrichas. This led to DiAblo Master extending their lead to double digits multiple times in the quarter before settling with a nine point edge at haftime, 49-40.

The Sharks would come to life in the third canto, with bigmen Eberhardt Chandra and rookie CM Fabella helping sharing the scoring duties en route while being able to hold their opponents defensively allowing them to take the lead entering the final quarter, 72-69.

The final quarter saw the two sides exchange leads in a thrilling reprisal of their Game 1 encounter, but as the game went down to the final two minutes, the Sharks were holding a precarious one-point lead, 92-91. Unfortunately for the Cavite quintet, the tandem of Winböhla and Mpaloukos could not be contained as they initiated an 8-2 run that sealed the game for good. The Sharks tried to expand the time remaining by playing the foul game but Papatrichas could not find the bottom of the net despite multiple tries from beyond the arc.

The eventual champions were led by their three perimeter players, combining for 83 points, with an exemplary 47% from three-point distance. They were the only double-digit scorers for the visitors, with newly-minted MVP Kenan Okaygün only scoring eight points in the victory. San Nicolas was led by Papatrichas' 24 points on barely 30% shooting from the field followed by Chandra's 19 and Fabella's 15. Saulytis was severely limited compared to his 30-point performance in Game 1, scoring just 13 in the losing effort.

"This one will sting for a while." said team manager Ceruver. "Despite out struggles from the field, we were there. We came back, mounted the challenge and took the lead late. But again, we're unable to seal the deal when it mattered most just like in Game 1." he further added.

"To be that close to a tiebreaker and lose that chance is frustrating." said bigman Aldvydas Saulytis. "I feel personally responsible for not doing much more than I should have at a game like this."

The loss meant another 0-2 sweep for the Sharks in the Finals, rendering them winless in six Finals games over three-straight appearances since Season 54. They will remain in League III.10 with a wholly-revamped conference given the arrival of new teams replacing recenty-bot franchises that would prove to be a new challenge for the Cavite-based franchise.

Bloody Sunday

San Nicolas Sharks HQ
3:03

Coming off the heels of another disappointing Finals appearance, where they were unable to notch a single win in the series, the San Nicolas Sharks are once again faced with the grim reality that their efforts to improve the ability of the franchise to compete for a title and promotion to Division II is still insufficient to overcome their last hurdle. This was evident in the post-Finals presser immediately after the final buzzer had sounded for the season, with the look of disbelief and frustration in the faces of most of the players in the San Nicolas roster, staff and management.

And so in an unprecedented move, San Nicolas Sharks team manager Ceruver pulled the trigger on what is arguably the most controversial move in franchise history, putting every one of the Season 56 Finals roster on the transfer list with the exception of now-sophomore Chester Fabella. The move has since been called “Bloody Sunday” as it was done the Sunday after their season ended in a Finals appearance where they came up short yet again.

The move sent shockwaves of anger and disappointment amongst the Sharks fanbase and a groundswell of support particularly for roster cornerstones Markos Papatrichas and bigman Aldvydas Saulytis, with their partnership abruptly ending after just nearly two seasons. Papatrichas is also the last remaining member of the pioneering roster for the Sharks that took to the court representing the franchise for the first time in the latter part of Season 50. Saulytis was brought in to not only bring a competitive edge to the squad and increase the team’s chances of winning promotion, with his young age, he was also supposed to bridge the ability of the Sharks to possibly compete for titles and promotions over a longer period of time. The duo yielded immediate results as they connived to appear in two of the Sharks’ three straight Finals appearances as well as being named All-Star starters for the Big 8 conference, with Saulytis himself being named a Top 3 Finalist in the MVP voting in the recently-concluded season.

“I understand that there is frustration attached to the decision we just made. But as we made the assessment of how the team was constructed, we concluded that how we were doing business, how we were investing our resources, was not optimal to maximise our true potential nor was it sustainable enough that we can cover the cost of a competitive squad over the long haul.” Sharks’ gaffer Ceruver said. “We could’ve won the League and moved on from this division, but even so, our ability to compete over the long term was still in question.”

Aside from their dynamic duo, the Sharks will also lose the services of reliable swingmen Tom Proffitt and Juan Rodríguez, veteran bigman Marcus Eckart-Höbling, young beanpole Jano Melena as well as guard Rostislavas Chmaras and forward Eberhardt Chandra, the latter two were just acquired almost three weeks ago to bolster their Finals bid. Arkady Chernogryazskiy has also been put on transfer but is still awaiting bids as of this writing.

“While we are forgoing the ability to compete in the short term, the objective is to lay the foundation down, developing our infrastructure even further and reinvesting our resources to more sustainable purposes which we hope will deliver us a roster that can compete and contend for seasons to come.” Ceruver concluded.

With the seismic move, the Sharks are to being Season 57 with a completely different lineup. And with only CM Fabella left from last season’s roster, there can be no telling how the Cavite-based franchise will fare in the new League campaign.

Sharks complete Historic Elimination Round Sweep

SN Forum
20:52

The San Nicolas Sharks have made history after delivering another clean performance at home to demolish EmJayS, 108-58, at the SN Forum to complete their first sweep of the elimination round in franchise history.

Despite the National TV broadcast in the arena, the mounting levels of pressure and expectation from the San Nicolas fanbase, as well as comments from outside pundits and analysts, it was a festive atmosphere inside the Sharks home court, and the Cavite five did not disappoint.

San Nicolas shrugged off the early fight from EmJayS, who looked to rely on their perimeter attack led by their top man Stéphane Deregnaucourt in an attempt to keep in step with the Sharks. But Chinese daredevil Zhuge Pingnan and Pilipinas U21 standout CM Fabella were not having any of that as they combined for 17 points in the opening period to begin the breakaway from their visitors after the first 12 minutes, 24-12.

The rest of the Sharks' heavy hitters such as Gabriel Ian, SanMa Samuel and Dondon Doromal would continue administering further punishment to their counterparts as the lead more than doubled at the halfway mark, 52-27.

The pressure to keep up with the Sharks proved to be too much for the visitors as their challenged dissipated during the third quarter, when the lead was too much to overcome that it can be deemed as extended garbage time from that point forward.

Deregnaucourt was the only member of EmJayS that had a decent outing of 25 points on 41% shooting from the field while the rest of his teammates struggled mightily from the field as their team shot a dead-even 26% overall. They lost in almost every statistical category with overwhelming disadvantages on rebounding (53-24) and assists (22-6).

San Nicolas saw exemplary performances from their usual suspects led by Pingnan's 20 points on 64% shooting from the field, followed by Doromal's 19 points in 22 minutes off the bench. The Argentinean duo of Gabriel Ian and SanMa Samuel would score 16 and 13 points, respectively while Indrek Naaris rounded up the double-digit scorers with 11. 10 of the 12 players on the roster tonight played at least 20 minutes as seemingly any five-player combination on the floor for San Nicolas was effective against EmJays.

"Well, I could not say anything more of how good these guys have been thus far this season." said team manager Ceruver. "They have worked hard to get us to this position. And while the job is far from over, they have definitely made a mark on this team for this feat that they've just accomplished." he further added.

Not only have the Sharks completed the sweep of all 22 elimination round games, but they have also snatched the tiebreaker at the last minute from Bacolod Inasal, who had a sizeable lead in that department with about six games remaining. They will begin their playoff campaign this Tuesday afternoon against recently-defunct #4 seed Taalenyo team at the SN Forum.

Champions at Last: Sharks win first title in franchise history

After eight and a half seasons, the San Nicolas Sharks can finally call themselves champions as they took down Bacolod Inasal in Game 3, 110-90, in front of a raucous and jubilant crowd at the SN Forum earlier tonight.

It was another packed house that witnessed the Great 8 top-seed finally win the title and promotion to Division II, all while burying the stigma of the last four seasons. And with the way the series has panned out prior to the game, it was not going to come easy.

The start of the game had resemblance of Game #1, where the two sides did not allow either one to pull away from the other, leading to the two sides being separated by just one field goal, 26-24, in favor of the hosts.

Bacolod would eventually wrest the lead from San Nicolas midway thru the second period thanks to a Miguel Herrán triple and they would even lead by as much as five points, 44-39, with about four minutes remaining. The Sharks however, would counter with a 15-4 run, including eight unanswered points to re-take the driver's seat entering halftime, 54-48.

The third quarter would prove to be the difference that would put the odds in San Nicolas's favor, as the Sharks would embark on a season-defining 26-9 run that enabled them to increase the gap to 23 points, 80-57, by the time the two-minute warning blared for the period. Entering the final quarter, the Sharks have taken control of the game, 88-64.

The Sharks coaching staff would take the biggest gamble of their season, however, as they elected to field their second unit to begin the fourth quarter. This proved to be a near-fatal miscalculation as the visitors would go on a torrid run of their own to cut the deficit to just single digits, 92-84, with three and a half minutes remaining.

By that time though, a valiant but visibly-exhausted Bacolod team would have to contend with a rested starting unit from the San Nicolas side, and the Sharks would finally deliver the knockout blow by way of another 18-6 run that sealed the championship for San Nicolas.

The visitors were led by Áron Soós, who had 16 points in the night, followed by Ivan Sretenskiy's 14 points and 10 rebounds.

The newly-crowned champions were led by Dondon Doromal, who would deliver his finest performance of the season churning out 32 points, five rebounds and six assists. CM Fabella would finally have a breakthrough Finals performance of his own scoring 20 points and grabbing 13 rebounds, including six on the offensive end.

In an unprecedented move, SanMa Samuel would start in lieu of Doug Ochavo at the four spot and would post a 12-point, 10-rebound double-double of his own in the title decider.

"This was an amazing series. Kudos to Bacolod Inasal for pushing us to the limit." said team manager Ceruver. "They'll be a force to be reckoned with come next season with their roster."

"We took a chance at the start of the fourth resting our starters for that long, but it was only because of what they did in the previous quarter that we could afford to take that risk." said the Sharks' gaffer. "I had full trust in the second unit that they can hold the fort for as long as they did and I trusted the starters to bring it home once they returned to the floor."

"Sobrang saya, di ko po maipaliwanag." said a teary-eyed Fabella as confetti showered the court moments after the final buzzer sounded. "Salamat sa lahat ng tumulong para mapanalo namin 'to".

The win also means that they will receive a cash prize as well as promotion to Division II, where the level of competition is expected to rise significantly for the Sharks moving forward.

Last edited by Ceruver at 10/30/2022 9:17:44 AM

End of an era: Fuji Rising exported Artemio Rosalia to Australia

Shizuoka, Japan -- After 9 seasons with the Suns, Artemio Rosalia will take his talents off to Australia. "We have to let him go," Suns GM Maro said. "we are operating (-) for the past x years."

In a rare interview, owner Yo Chi said, "he was our best player by far. Art was a homegrown talent and we did everything we can to develop him and surround him with competent players."

Beyond stats and contributions, the management reflected on the sale, "perhaps we need to change our strategy as it's very to difficult to compete with an All-Filipino lineup. We have the resources, we enjoy how we run things, but Division II.1 is a difficult league akin to the Philippine Premiere League - which we have been a part of - and it takes more than resources and luck, more often, foreign players to compete in that level."

As for plans this season, "We need to operate in the (+). Relegating is not out of discussion."

The Suns can compete with stalwart big man Ress Sonota and up-and-comer Art Cabrera and steady veterans Moises Taytay and Orville Ronda. Morty Encomio and John Francisco has been playing under the radar behind Rosalia and Rondo and this is their time to shine; while a lot of young players will also want to prove themselves.

As much as they want to "tank", this team may still be good to compete. What's in store in Season 60 for this proud franchise?

Team Polydozel beats out Big 8 all-stars convincingly

In a bizarre twist, the Great 8's top ten all star team was represented by the members of Team Polydozel, the only team undefeated in League III.12. While The big 8 All-stars was represented by by two elite teams of the Big 8 conference, The Manila Braves and Delta Iota team.

Pundits predicted that it's going to be a bloodbath as the best of the best of the Big 8 teams will have more than enough talent to outscore the number one team in the league, which consists of Polydozel's role players and rookies.

But that is not the case, The reigning kings of the league proved that team chemistry could be the key factor in defeating the obviously heavily arsenal team and they exploited their opponents' lack of teamwork and communication.

"We only had one play, and that's to rotate the heck of the ball until their shoes run out of rubber" says Nap Jamora, who had the most assists on the game with 7.

"We just had fun and at the same time trying to win the game because the Big 8 all-stars just wasn't having it." Irving Wilkinson, the game MVP, stated along with emphasis on how serious the exhibition game went through.

The game was intense. It was neck on neck since the first minute, up until the start of the fourth quarter when the Great 8 lead was only three points.

"They were really serious. Monster and Wilk were on a mission that day, it's just an exhibition game, i dunno why." says one fan.

Youngster Alfredo "Monster" Montenay played only 16 minutes in the game yet tallied 28 points. Craig Healy was unconscious from the three hitting 5 of 6 attempts, and Irving Wilkinson threw 12 three-pointers and converted 10.

"You could really see the difference in their ball rotations. up to the point of catching the ball being shot ready, that makes of as to why they managed to finish the game with the win." The big 8 all star coach pointed out at the press conference.

Will this mean that team Polydozel got this season in a bag? We will find out in the following weeks as we witness their journey being touted as one of the greatest teams to step foot on this league.

Team Polydozel's remaining home tickets are already sold out. and the team management are already in the works of adding up seats in their massive arena. hopefully they will announce the availability of those seats and people are really looking forward for it.

Last edited by Katchafire Collie at 4/2/2023 4:39:47 AM

Team Polydozel ties up sponsor partnership with Oil magnate

League III.12 frontruners Team Polydozel secured a partnership with Simcompanies oil magnate Atlas Kemp Ventures which will provide stability with the financial aspect and development of the roster in the coming seasons.

Team Polydozel, which is about to complete their comeback PPL run after being out of the league for a number of seasons, announced at yesterday's press conference that AK Ventures' support in sports and development has always been included in the company's vision for the society and in turn will continue on to support everything involving sports, including basketball.

The company's chairman has always been a fan of the early day Polydozels and now that he had reach a moment in his life that "can be able to support and follow the best team in the world", He stated that he believes in the team will go places and wants to be a part of it in some way.

"This partnership is like a dream come true. I have always been there in their highs and lows, and I will make sure that this team stays in the league to provide inspiration for anyone in the future, the way that they inspired me a long time ago." says the proud company founder.

"Changes internally will be made and the arena expansion will be done starting next season, and one of the aims of our partners is to provide the most state of the art arena in the whole world, one that any fan or pundit should be proud of." says team owner.

The league commissioner expressed his congratulations on the partnership and hopes that the merger will provide another competition for that premier league slot, as he believed that "even though we can safely assume that Team Polydozel may not be in our league for long, we can assure that this team could provide inspiration for people to value the importance of hard work, dedication to the sport, and declare to the world that our country, is a basketball-minded country.

Pundits speculate whether that the team name would be changed with this merger but the team and the partners assured that "we will be keeping the name still team Polydozel, just as what history known them as, and that all that is changing is the team direction which is al the way up, back to where they truly belong."