Rain or Shine went through the wringer but still made it to the semifinals, all thanks to hardworking reinforcement Aaron Fuller.
Banged up, bruised and with a torn left cornea, Fuller soldiered on and carried the Elasto Painters into the next round of the Philippine Basketball Association Governors’ Cup after a grueling and highly physical best-of-five quarterfinals series against Magnolia that went the full distance.
Head coach Yeng Guiao credited the hard-earned series win to his import.
“Aaron’s value is simple: We won’t be here if not for Aaron. He carried us on his broad shoulders,” Guiao said following Rain or Shines’ 113-103 victory over the Hotshots in the do-or-die Game 5 Saturday night at the Ynares Sports Center in Antipolo.
Fuller came through with 26 points and nine rebounds in sealing the Elasto Painters’ best-of-seven semis showdown against defending champion TNT in a clash of top-seeded teams in their respective groups after the elimination.
Guiao lauded how the 34-year-old forward carried himself throughout the series despite the punishing physicality thrown at him by one of the league’s best defensive squads.
“Magnolia’s defense was just clamping down on him, double team, triple team, sometimes the whole team is around him. Sometimes he gets frustrated because he doesn’t get the fouls he feels he should get. But Aaron kept his emotions. He held his emotions under check,” Guiao said.
Fuller suffered a torn left cornea after getting poked in the eye by Hotshots big man Ian Sangalang in the opening quarter of Game 2.
He was forced to sit out the rest of the match because of a swollen eye and blurry vision as the Elasto Painters got ravaged in a 69-121 rout.
Fuller, however, deflected the credit to the team’s collective effort to outlast Magnolia.
“It was a battle and it just shows how much heart the team has. We did a great job coming up with a defensive game plan for today’s game (Game 5). We came out and just left it out on the court. Just really proud of the guys,” Fuller said.
“We’re gonna enjoy this. Take some rest but we still have some more things to do.”
Still, Guiao attributed the deep run of Rain or Shine in the season-opening conference to Fuller’s effort and leadership.
“He’s a silent leader. He doesn’t talk much but his actions speak for itself. He works hard. So, his value is simple, we will not be here if not for Aaron,” he said.
The Elasto Painters will again pin their hopes on Fuller as they take on Rondae Hollis-Jefferson and the rest of the Tropang Giga.