PBA IMAGES
Mario Little may not put up the kind of numbers PBA imports normally have on a nightly-basis, but statistics won’t measure his effectiveness as far as TNT head coach Jong Uichico is concerned.
“He might not give the numbers we all expect, but he gives something else that the team does not have,” Uichico said after a 101-95 win over NLEX on Wednesday.
Heading into the KaTropa’s game against the Road Warriors, Little is last among imports in scoring averaging just 14.7 points and ninth in rebounds with 9.0 a game.
Little, though, proved his worth late with the game on the line.
He had six points and a timely assist in the last three minutes and 13 seconds. His lone assist made it 95-93 with 1:11 remaining and his 3-pointer with 23.2 seconds left sealed it.
“It doesn’t show in the stats, what we see. He has very good defensive awareness. He can play the 4 and the 3. He’s not as strong as the other imports, but he makes the defensive system look better.”
And if Uichico isn’t convincing enough, TNT’s record could validate his case. The KaTropa are currently on top of the standings with a 4-0 mark despite missing some of their key players due to injuries since the start of the conference.
“He just gives a little bit of everything.”