TNT | CHRIS MCCULLOUGH IS THEIR IMPORT (FOR REAL, THIS TIME?)

So I made a quick post about how TNT hastily acquired former UP Fighting Maroon Malick Diouf to compensate for the injury to Bol Manute Bol. I posted the article in the wee hours of Sunday because I was going to be out.

While killing time, I checked the game on my phone, and suddenly, it dawned on me.

Where the hell is Malick Diouf, and why is TNT going All-Filipino?

Then I got busy again. When I checked my phone later, it turned out that Diouf is now out, and former San Miguel import Chris McCullough is now TNT's import. Apparently, the team eventually relented after McCullough kept “bugging” them for a chance to play. At the same time, Diouf’s papers couldn’t be processed on time, which only compounded the situation.

It also helps that, even while recovering from injury, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson continues to help TNT find ways to win.

What a crazy turn of events for the Tropang 5G!

So let’s forget for a second that Meralco lost to an import-less team for the second time this conference. This is actually great for TNT. McCullough, the 31-year-old who once played for the Brooklyn Nets and was even rumored to be a naturalization candidate, had just finished his stint as an import in Taiwan and is basically a plug-and-play option for TNT.

Will he disrupt TNT’s chemistry? Well, it feels like he’s going to start that way. I think one of the reasons Meralco lost to TNT is that they prepared a battle plan with Malick Diouf in mind. Add the fact that I see Marvin Jones more as a complementary import than an alpha-type player, and I think all of this messed up Meralco’s Game 3 approach.

However, they can probably use the same game plan for Game 4, when McCullough is still trying to feel his way into TNT’s system.

I know it has been roughly seven years since the former Syracuse Orangemen standout last played in the PBA, but fans still remember him as the guy who led the Beermen to the 2019 PBA Commissioner’s Cup title. In a way, this is virtually the same situation McCullough walked into back then, when he joined San Miguel in the middle of a desperate run after original import Charles Rhodes led the team to a 2-5 start.

And of course, TNT “fondly” remembers McCullough because he was the reason Terrence Jones and the rest of TNT missed out on a championship. The Beermen defeated the Tropa, 4-2, to capture their league-leading 27th championship.

The only remaining TNT players from that squad are Jayson Castro, Kelly Williams, and RR Pogoy. Chot Reyes also wasn’t the TNT coach back then, with Bong Ravena calling the shots while Chot was on a coaching hiatus.

While McCullough isn’t a unicorn like Bol Manute Bol, he still averaged 30 points and 15 rebounds the last time he played here. I guess his biggest problem now is that instead of playing alongside June Mar Fajardo, he’ll have Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser or Kelly Williams beside him, which could make TNT vulnerable against the likes of Marvin Jones, Cliff Hodge, and Brandon Bates.

That said, the dude understands and has embraced the reality of being an Asian import. He also knows the PBA style, and I definitely believe a focused McCullough can outperform Jones.

And how insane would it be if McCullough won his first PBA title alongside Matt Ganuelas-Rosser, and now has a chance to win another one — this time with Matt’s brother, Brandon?

Still, you know Meralco will bounce back from that humiliating loss. They’re familiar with McCullough, so they probably already have an idea of how to contain him.

And the last thing the Bolts want to do is give their sister team another opportunity to defend its title.