Moala Tautuaa

Moala Tautuaa Jr. (born April 30, 1989)^[1] is an American born Filipino-Tongan basketball player currently playing for the Cebuana Lhuillier Gems of the PBA D-League. He is drafted 1st overall in the 2014 PBA D-League draft by Cagayan Rising Suns.^[2]

Career

Tautuaa played for Chadron State College, a Division II NCAA team.^[3] He led the Eagles in scoring at 12.9 points a game and rebounding with a 5.6 average in his senior year. His 63.5 percent field goal percentage led the team and ranked second in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference.

During his career at CSC, he shot 62.6 percent (426-681) from the field to break the old mark of 61.9 percent that Elijah Collins set during 2001-05. He finished with 1,160 points, tying him for 17th all-time at CSC.^[4]

He applied for the 2012 NBA draft but went undrafted.^[5] He then decided to resume his basketball career by playing as an import for the Westports Malaysia Dragons in the ASEAN Basketball League.^[6] He was initially discovered by Dragons' head coach Ariel Vanguardia during the latter's visit to San Francisco. He became teammates with current PBA player Justin Melton.

He currently averages 15.6 points, 7.6 rebounds and 0.6 block for the Dragons, who started off the 2014 season with a 2-1 win-loss record. But he has set his sights to play in the PBA, so he processed his citizenship papers at the Bureau of Immigration and Deporation and applied for the D-League Draft, where he was drafted No-1 overall. Once he completes a season in the D-League, he will be eligible for the 2015-16 rookie draft of the PBA, where he is projected to be a Top Three pick on the way to becoming the next Fil-Tongan player in the pro league after Asi Taulava.^[7]

Personal life

Tautuaa's father is Moala Sr., a Tongan, while his mother is Romanita, a Filipina, who hails from Cabanatuan City, Nueva Ecija^[8] He earned a degree in Criminal Justice, and can speak Tagalog.^[9]

References