Mo Tautuaa wasted no time in showing what he can bring to the table for San Miguel on Sunday.
The 6-foot-7 center — whom the Beermen acquired in a one-on-one trade with the NorthPort Batang Pier last Monday that saw them ship Christian Standhardinger — had 10 points and five rebounds in their 113-107 win over the Columbian Dyip.
“In his first outing he played really well,” lauded coach Leo Austria of Tautuaa, who played for over 19 minutes. “Scored ten points in his first eight minutes. Definitely he’ll help us in our quest of winning a lot of championships.
“You can see na he’s the perfect reliever for June Mar [Fajardo] — but he’s not only a perfect reliever eh, he can also play with June Mar. Hindi pa nakikita ‘yung combination ng dalawa, pero in the near future, we will do that.”
“Maganda naman ‘yung nilaro ni Mo. Maganda ‘yung contribution niya,” said June Mar Fajardo, on the other hand.
“Malaking bagay [na nandiyan siya]. Bawas sa load para sa ‘kin. Kailangan ma-maximize namin si Mo.”
For Tautuaa, though, his aim was never to score high. Instead, he simply wanted to be of help for his new team.
“I didn’t come in with anything. I wasn’t really worried about how many points I was gonna have. I just wanted to make sure I help the team, whether offensively or defensively,” the 30-year-old said.
“Just making sure I fit, you know.”
Now that his first game as a Beerman is in the books, Tautuaa looks to find his spot with the Grand Slam-seeking team.
“We have a good team, and it’s already tried and true you know. So it’s just [about] finding my spot within that offense and defense, making sure I’m helping the team as much as I can,” said the first overall pick of the 2015 PBA Draft.
“I’m just one piece added to a full machine out there, and you see it, San Miguel is a good team. We’re a good team. I gotta find my spot within that team.”
