MANILA, Philippines — The PBA Governors’ Cup semifinal war isn’t just about Justin Brownlee (Ginebra), Rondae Hollis-Jefferson (TNT) and EJ Anosike (San Miguel).
Rain or Shine import Aaron Fuller reminded everyone of that as he redeemed himself with a heroic performance to inject some life into the Elasto Painters’ semifinal campaign.
Fuller, a veteran PBA reinforcement of his own like Best Import staple awardees Brownlee and Hollis-Jefferson, had his best game thus far in the best-of-seven series capped by the game-winning three-point play in the last 3.8 seconds.
The 34-year-old American finished with 26 points and 16 rebounds, with nine points coming in the payoff period to complete ROS’ comeback from an early 12-point deficit and in the process dodge a massive 0-3 hole in the race-to-four duel.
“It’s about just having confidence in myself. It’s just trying to lay it all out there” beamed Fuller, who had his worst performance all-conference long in ROS’ deflating 108-91 Game 2 loss to go winless in the series.
Fuller is the league’s top rebounder with 17 a game but bled for just six rebounds in Game 2 on top of his dismal 13 points.
With his squad staring at a 107-109 deficit down the stretch for a near 0-3 deficit, Fuller just would not be denied in finally breaking out of his shell.
“It’s about knowing that we don’t want to go down 0-3. It’s not impossible to get back but trying to come back down 0-3 would be a tall order,” added Fuller, who once played for his team’s rival TNT.
“But it wasn’t just about me. It was a total team effort. We had other people stepping up. We’re able to weather the storm and come out on top.”
Fuller may be often overshadowed by the Brownlees, Hollis-Jeffersons and Anosikes of Asia's first pro league in the Best Import conversations but when ROS needed him, he showed up and delivered. For the Elasto Painters, he's the best.
And maybe that’s the only thing ROS is waiting to happen to turn the tide entering the crucial Game 4 with now a manageable 1-2 slate — instead of a seemingly improbable 0-3 deficit.
“We passed the test of character. We got ourselves back in the series and it gives us confidence that we can beat TNT,” declared coach Yeng Guiao.