Aaron Fuller was immediately put to the test a day after clearing quarantine protocols as he suited up for TNT in its 2021-22 PBA Governors’ Cup clash with Rain or Shine, Sunday evening at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
The American cager is back for another tour of duty in Asia’s pioneering pro league to replace McKenzie Moore, who’s been hounded by a knee injury.
The 32-year-old forward collected 13 points and 10 rebounds in nearly 39 minutes, as the Tropang Giga escaped with a 95-92 decision to end the year triumphantly — and, more importantly return, to the win column.
“This is the first time the players saw Fuller,” said head coach Chot Reyes. “He just got out of quarantine last night, so he wasn’t able to practice.
“So we were doing things on the fly, a lot of adjustments on the fly, on the court.”
The champion mentor said that it was a welcome sight for the team that Fuller was in ‘pretty good shape,’ since he was just coming off a stint with Fuerza Regia in the Liga Nacional de Baloncesto Profesional in Mexico.
“The good thing was, he was in pretty good shape,” said Reyes. “But, you know, he went home to Arizona, came here, and then went into quarantine so he hasn’t been doing any cardio. No running.
“Hasn’t even touched a basketball for at least a week now, until this morning,” furthered the veteran bench tactician.
Fuller has actually been in and out of the Mexican ball club since 2019 and that, said Reyes, is the reason why they weren’t able to get him earlier.
“That’s what prevented us from getting him in early in the first place, because he was still playing in Mexico until the end of November. So he couldn’t come early enough. And you know how difficult it is to get imports in,” he said.
What’s important, though, is that the former USC Trojan is in town already. And Reyes said that they plan to utilize the break to integrate Fuller further.
“Yeah, we’re pretty fortunate that we have a break. At least, we will have time to assimilate Aaron Fuller into our scheme of things,” he said.
Still, Reyes said that the Tropang Giga top brass has yet to make a decision whether or not it will stick with Fuller the rest of the way.
“Mac is still here, he’s on the injured-reserve list, essentially. That’s the situation right now. And we’re going to stay with that until we get a chance to make a decision. But right now, we have both guys here,” he said.
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