TNT taps Chris McCullough as Bol's replacement

MANILA, Philippines -- After playing all-Filipino against the Meralco Bolts, help has arrived for the TNT Tropang 5G in the form of former PBA champion Chris McCullough. 

TNT squeaked out a 77-75 Game 3 win over the Meralco Bolts Sunday even without an import as newly-naturalized Malick Diouf could not be cleared on time. 

Following the Achilles injury to Best Import of the Conference Bol Bol, the 31-year-old McCullough will now be the team’s reinforcement, at least in the meantime. 

The former TNT tormentor, who formerly won the PBA Commissioner’s Cup back in 2019 with the San Miguel Beermen, will be bringing stability and maturity to the team, Tropang 5G head coach Chot Reyes said. 

“When a new import comes in, there's a lot of adjustments. Adjustment to the time, the weather, the culture, the kind of game. And then adjustment with his teammates. So with McCullough, at least those variables we've taken out already, adjustment na lang with his teammates, and the way we do things,” he told reporters. 

“Pero hindi man mahirap mag-adjust sa amin. Alam mo kami maglaro, bara-bara naman kami maglaro. As long as you have a pretty good basketball IQ, you can cope easily with what we're trying to do. So, I think that's the one thing he will bring is the maturity and the stability to our team,” he added. 

McCullough last played for the Taoyuan Taiwan Beer Leopards this season, where the team finished first in the Taiwan Professional Basketball League. 

There, he averaged 15.9 points, 10.6 rebounds, 1.6 steals, 1.5 assists and 1.3 blocks per game. 

Taoyuan, however, lost to the New Taipei Kings in the semifinals. 

“Skills-wise, we all know he's both inside-outside. But again, it remains to be seen what kind of value he will bring to this team,” Reyes said. 

But the veteran coach admitted that having a new import “can go both ways.” 

“It can give us a jolt of energy. But it can also get in the way of already how smooth things are going with the team,” he said. 

“Well, we all know the caliber of McCollough, except we're not really sure the kind of game shape he's been coming off his stint in Taiwan. But at least he's been playing. But I think the most important thing really is the assimilation with the guys,” he added. 

And despite the team having both McCullough and Diouf in tow, the team is still looking at their options. 

“We're still even looking beyond the two guys who are here already. But that's a work in progress. There's nothing more I can say except we continue to look. It's a work in progress.” 

TNT team manager Jojo Lastimosa earlier said that they are also looking at either Marquese Chriss or Darius Days as a replacement for Bol.