MANILA, Philippines -- Fil-Tongan Moala Tautuaa couldn’t hide his excitement as he joins Gilas Pilipinas’ practice for the first time on Thursday night at the Meralco gym.
Arriving on Wednesday from the United States after spending the past five weeks recovering from an ankle injury, the wide-bodied Tautuaa said the call up by Gilas coach Tab Baldwin to join national pool came in as a surprise.
“I’m excited about it (joining Gilas). I was surprised (with the call), though I’m not too sure (what my role will be),” Tautuaa said when reached by Philstar.com.
Baldwin actually told Philstar.com on Tuesday that they intend to bring the top PBA rookie prospect in as a possible backup for ailing naturalized player Andray Blatche.
Blatche was diagnosed with prostatitis on Tuesday after performing a series of tests at the Makati Medical Center.
Although Baldwin said they expect the former Brooklyn Nets slotman to rejoin the team soon, the idea of bringing Tautuaa in is more as ‘plan B’.
For Tautuaa, just the chance to practice alongside PBA players is already a chance for him to learn from the veterans.
“They (PBA players at the Gilas pool) are already the cream of the crop,” he added.
Tautuaa is actually a Philippine passport holder, according to Baldwin, though the consensus top rookie pick in this month’s draft is barred from joining the national team as a local player due to a Fiba rule.
Under that rule, a player must have secured a passport from the country he was to represent by the time he reaches the age of 16 to be considered a local player.
Meantime, during his month-long stay in the US, Tautuaa explained that he worked hard at the gym to bulk up in preparation for his jump to the pros this month.
“I went to the gym a lot, building on my body because I kinda shed a lot of muscles playing here,” shared the former Chadron State standout.
Tautuaa said he also tried to get some tips from Barangay Ginebra guard Solomon Mercado, who is also currently training in the US.
“I try to get some ideas from Sol because he’s a veteran in the PBA because he works hard in everything. So I watch him a lot,” added Tautuaa.
The wide-bodied Tautuaa concluded his two-conference stint in the PBA D-League by emerging as the Most Valuable Player of the Foundation Cup.
The 26-year-old Fil-Tongan averaged a league-best 20.2 points, 11.3 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.6 steals for Cebuana Lhuillier, which he led to a semifinal finish.