Not in best shape, Fuller still impressive in NLEX return

Aaron Fuller hadn’t played in an official basketball game for five months before he returned to NLEX for the 2018 PBA Governors’ Cup.

Standing in as a temporary replacement for the injured Oluseyi Ashaolu, Fuller ended his hiatus with a marvelous outing that saw him put up 35 points, 21 rebounds, and seven assists in the Road Warriors’ 116-104 win over Columbian.

Fuller, despite putting up such gaudy numbers, said he was still not in top condition and that he hopes he can have his legs under him for the future games.

“I think I did pretty good but I was pretty winded in the end, hopefully in the next game I have better conditioning,” said Fuller Wednesday at Smart Araneta Coliseum. “Good thing we got this win, it was good team effort.”

Even NLEX assistant coach Jojo Lastimosa was surprised with how Fuller and the rest of the team performed.

Lastismosa, who is filling in for head coach Yeng Guiao who is with the national team in the Asian Games, added that JR Quiñahan played with a sore back.

Quiñahan still put up 10 points, five rebounds, six assists and a couple of late three-pointers that effectively put the Dyip to rest.

“I’m he most surprised guy that he [Fuller] lasted 40 minutes, hats off to Aaron and hats off to a lot guys like JR who played with a sore back,” said Lastimosa. “I thought he’s [Quiñahan] not going to play but he was a huge factor.”

Quiñahan hit his final three-pointer of the game that put the dagger through Columbian’s heart and gave NLEX a 116-104 lead with 55.3 seconds left in the game.