He maybe a replacement import, but the returning Aaron Fuller showed everyone he remains deadly as ever.
Fuller, who is filling in for the injured Olu Ashaolu, was a man on a mission in his return to NLEX, which he led to the playoffs in the same conference last season.
The 28-year-old cager battered his foes on all fronts on the way to 35 points, 21 rebounds, and seven assists. Not bad for someone who hasn't played competitive basketball in five months.
"Aaron has not been playing for five months. He's rusty but he's gonna be fresh. I'm the most surprised guy that he's able to last 40 minutes. Hats off to Aaron," said NLEX assistant coach Jojo Lastimosa.
His counterpart, Akeem Wright (37 points), outscored him. But Fuller put the cuffs on the Dyip import in the waning minutes when it mattered most.
However, Fuller admitted he is still trying to get into top form.
"I think I did pretty good but I was pretty winded in the end, hopefully in the next game I have better conditioning. Good thing we got this win. It's a good team effort," Fuller said.
While all praise for Fuller, Lastimosa also lauded his Filipino crew.
The locals stepped up when the Road Warriors nearly squandered a 13-point lead in the fourth period. During that final stretch, it was local heroes Larry Fonacier, JR Quinahan, and Alex Mallari who contributed.
"Hats off to a lot of guys tonight and JR with a sore back playing. I thought he's not gonna play and he was a huge factor. Larry was there. Mac (Tallo) was there and Ken also. The usual guys that we have, they have been consistent this conference. They've been playing well," he said.