The San Nicolas Sharks will live to stay another season in Division II as they took down Team Pao 101-84, in the second relegation series game on Saturday night, completing a 2-0 sweep of the now former League II.2 Big 8 participants.
It was not the most accurate of shooting nights as the Cavite-based squad only shot 38% from the field overall, but their defensive solidity proved to be more than enough to deliver the victory, avoiding relegation in the process. Gamma Makridakis led all Sharks players with 20 points while Avi Lustig and his backup Tato Tatosyan, both scored 16 points.
Three key pieces for the San Nicolas squad made their farewell performances count, with Sol Puro netting 13 points and six rebounds, Douglas Rasool scoring 12 and Clyde MacCrystal scoring six and grabbing 10 boards. All three players will be leaving the team by the end of the weekend via transfers.
"I'm proud of the fight that these guys put up this season." said team manager Ceruver. "We did not get the job done and make the playoffs again, but we made just as good of a run as we could have mustered."
"They will be missed and the task of replacing their contributions will be a tall one, no question." the Sharks' gaffer added. "They made sacrifices for the team and we cannot thank them enough for everything they did for us."
The victory formally concludes the Sharks' Season 63 campaign. With the departures of key pieces, the task of making improvements to the team is about to begin.