From scrambling to find imports, TNT is now facing a ‘good problem’ as it has the luxury to choose between two choices to replace Bol Bol.
The Tropang 5G have welcomed Chris McCullough, who arrived in Manila on Sunday and even went straight to the Mall of Asia Arena to watch his new team escape Meralco in Game 3 of their PBA Season 50 Commissioner’s Cup semis.
As he dropped by, both the 7-foot-3 winger’s potential successors happened to be in attendance — the other being Malick Diouf, whom the reigning champions signed a day after their original reinforcement went down with an Achilles injury.
Soon, Coach Chot Reyes and his deputies will have to choose between the two, making the next 24 to 48 hours crucial as Game 4 is on Wednesday.
(C) FIBA 3×3
“Malick Diouf was in practice yesterday. We continue to ask him back in practice, even if McCullough arrives tonight. We want to see both of them because we want to see who will fit us better,” he said shortly after their 77-75 victory.
Of the two, McCullough has the clear advantage, given the pedigree he’s built being a Commissioner’s Cup champion himself after helping a loaded San Miguel Beer to the crown in 2019 against, coincidentally, the Tropang 5G.
That, plus his experience in Asia’s pioneering pro league, means the veteran mentor hardly feels worried about how McCullough will adjust to their system.
“When a new import comes in, there’s a lot of adjustments — adjustments to the time, the weather, the culture, the kind of game, and then adjustments with his teammates,” he said.
“So with McCullough, at least those variables, we’ve taken out already, adjustment na lang with his teammates, and with the way we do things.
“Pero hindi naman mahirap mag-adjust sa amin. Alam mo naman kaming maglaro; bara-bara naman kaming maglaro, ‘di ba? As long as you have a pretty good basketball IQ, you can cope easily with what we’re trying to do,” he added.
Reyes, though, is a bit concerned about the 31-year-old’s game shape, although he’s only a week removed from a stint with the Taoyuan Taiwan Beer Leopards of the TPBL, where they got ousted by the New Taipei Kings in the semis.
Former UAAP MVP Diouf last played competitive basketball in the Kaohsiung City Challenger back on October 4 of last year.
“While we all know the caliber of McCullough, we’re not really sure of the kind of game shape he’s been in, coming off a stint in Taiwan,” he said.
“But at least, he’s been playing,” he added about McCullough, who averaged 15.8 points and 10.6 rebounds for the Leopards in the 2025-26 season.
Then again, nothing’s set in stone yet, as TNT is still looking at other possible options outside of Diouf and McCullough, according to Reyes.
“We’ll take a look at what our options are — we are still even looking beyond the two guys who are here already. But that’s a work in progress,” he said.
“There’s nothing more I can say except we continue to look, and it’s a work in progress.”
