Aaron Fuller didn’t show up. That, according to Yeng Guiao, was one big reason the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters lost Game 3 to the Converge FiberXers on Tuesday at the City of Dasmariñas Arena in Cavite.
“We missed Aaron in this game,” Guiao told reporters after Converge’s 105-89 win to grab a 2-1 series lead over Rain or Shine in their PBA Governors’ Cup quarterfinals series. “I think he made only 4 points, 2 out of 11. If it’s an import conference, you cannot survive with your import scoring only 4 points.”
Fuller did, in fact, finish with a measly 4 points on 2-for-11 shooting in 37:41 minutes. He did grab 13 boards but was, by and large, missing in action—ineffective on offense and exploited on defense by the tall and active FiberXers frontline of Justine Baltazar , Justin Arana, and Cameron Clark.
Aaron Fuller, the Missing Piece
Even with Aaron Fuller essentially missing in action, the Elasto Painters still were in the game up until the first few minutes of the final frame. In fact, as Guiao himself pointed out, Rain or Shine even raced to an eight-point lead, 64-56, on an Adrian Nocum four-pointer at the 8:11 mark of the third quarter. Fuller, at that point, had only two points, but the locals were picking up the slack.
Only, it went downhill for the Elasto Painters real quick. Converge erased that lead with a 12-0 blitz, then pulled away in the fourth quarter for the crucial win. Through it all, Fuller continued to be MIA, making his second basket at the 6:21 mark of the fourth with Rain or Shine trailing, 92-77. He didn’t score again.
“We led in the third quarter by eight points even without him being felt in the game, so I think that’s a good sign for us, if only he can play his regular game or just contribute na lang niya ‘yung averages niya,” Guiao noted. “‘Yun ‘yung kinailangan namin na hindi namin nakita today. Pero meron talagang ganun. You have bad nights, your import has bad nights…”
Aaron Fuller Must Play Better, Guiao Says
Heading into a backs-against-the-wall Game 4, Guiao already has an idea on how Rain or Shine can extend the series to a Game 5 decider: get Fuller to play better.
“The series is not over… Tignan natin anong mangyayari sa Friday,” Guiao maintained. “We’ll have to talk to him…. Kailangan sigurong ipaalala sa kaniya na we will require a much better performance. The numbers that he produced today are not enough for us to win, even if the locals made their contributions. If I’m not mistaken, baka ito pinakamasamang laro niya sa Philippine soil…”
Guiao isn’t mistaken. Aaron Fuller played his worst game in the PBA at the worst possible time. The only consolation is that he has Game 4 to make up for it—and possibly Game 5.
