PBA top rookie prospect Tautaa to serve as Blatche back-up

MANILA, Philippines -- Help is on the way for the decimated Gilas Pilipinas pool.

Aside from Star forward Marc Pingris, who’ll be reporting for duty on Thursday night, top rookie prospect Moala Tautuaa is set to join the national pool also to serve as backup for hurting naturalized player Andray Blatche.

Gilas coach Tab Baldwin said in light of the spate of injuries that have hit the national pool the past days, the coaching staff has talked with the wide-bodied Tautuaa and his handlers regarding the setup.

“We’re gonna bring Marc Pingris in on Thursday. He’s come in to join the pool and he’s gonna be fighting for a roster spot,” Baldwin disclosed to sports scribes after Gilas’ practice Tuesday night at the Meralco gym.

“We’re also bringing in Moala Tautuaa.  We really want his body in here, and also, he’ll act as backup to Andray as naturalized player.”

With Blatche diagnosed with prostatitis, guard Terrence Romeo down with viral infection, Dondon Hontiveros (calf muscle strain) and Ranidel de Ocampo (hamstring) still out, while Kelly Williams dropped from the pool due to MCL (medial collateral ligament) strain,   Baldwin said they’ve thought of a ‘plan B’ for the injury-depleted national side.

“Obviously, he (Tautuaa) can’t play in the roster if Andray is playing, but if something happens to Andray, that’s the direction,” explained the multi-titled NBL coach in New Zealand.

“We wanna go in now with Mo. We have spoken to his people and he thinks the idea of being part of Gilas is exciting for him,” he added.

Tautuaa, a Fil-Tongan, is coming off a one-month break in the United States.

He was recently named the PBA D-League Foundation Cup MVP after helping Cebuana Lhuillier reach the semifinals.

Although the 6-foot-7 Tautuaa is a Philippine passport holder, according to Baldwin,

the consensus top rookie pick in this month’s draft is barred from joining the national team as a local player due to a Fiba rule.

Under that rule, a player must have secured a passport from the country he was to represent by the time he reaches the age of 16 to be considered a local player.

Marcus Douthit, who served as Gilas’ naturalized player since 2010, is already 35 and Baldwin stressed the need to think ahead.

The Gilas mentor pointed out that Tautuaa could serve as the cadet team’s reinforcement in tournaments like the South East Asia Basketball Association (SEABA) or the Southeast Asian Games.

“We also think of the future, a little bit with SEABA and the SEA Games and things like these in the future,” he said.

“We probably won’t use Andray (in the SEABA and SEA Games). He’ll (Tautuaa) kinda slide in to Marcus’ role and I think that’s exciting for Gilas basketball,” added Baldwin.