Kenneth Tuffin received his welcome-to-the-PBA moment late in Phoenix Super LPG’s Season 48 Commissioner’s Cup debut versus NLEX, Friday night.
The rookie winger got decked as he and opposing forward Don Trollano jockeyed for position near the rim with only 46.5 seconds left to play.
It took him a bit while to get back up but Tuffin suffered nothing serious, and went on to finish the game which the Fuel Masters won, 113-101.
“I guess, maybe, he didn’t see me trying to run in,” he recalled about that particular incident moments after emerging from the team’s dugout at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
“I was just trying to get the offensive rebound.”
There’s no beef whatsoever over what happened, though, Tuffin said, since he has always respected the eight-year vet out of Adamson.
(C) PBA Images
“I respect Don. I’ve been watching him since I was in FEU,” he said.
“He said sorry. He didn’t really see. It’s all good, It’s all part of the game.”
That incident also didn’t dampen what had been an impressive debut for the sixth overall pick, who finished with 16 points, six rebounds, and four assists as he contributed in the key fourth quarter run to turn the game around.
But it doesn’t mean that Tuffin will shy away from the physicality that he will surely encounter in the games to come.
“You know how New Zealand plays, it’s nothing new to me,” said the 26-year-old, who spent three years in the NZ-NBL.
“Looking forward to the next challenge.”
