Ex-FEU Tams Tuffin, Nunag face off in New Zealand NBL as Saints cruise anew

Former FEU captain Ken Tuffin had the last laugh over his ex-FEU teammate Joseph Nunag in the New Zealand National Basketball League (NBL) as the dominant Wellington Saints crushed the Franklin Bulls, 111-82, at the TSB Bank Arena on Thursday, May 20.

With the win, the 2019 league champions extended their undefeated, league-leading run to 5-0 for the season, while the Bulls dropped to 3-3 in a two-way tie with the Southland Sharks for fifth place.

As Tuffin stuck to his role and recorded only 3 points in 15 minutes, his teammates created the bulk of the offense, with Kerwin Roach Jr. tallying game-highs of 22 points, 9 rebounds, and 5 assists.

Big man Romaro Gill provided a bench spark with 17 points in as many minutes on the floor, while former La Salle foreign student-athlete Taane Samuel added 12 markers on 5-of-9 shooting.

After a back-and-forth first quarter, the Saints pulled away from the Bulls in the second period with a 14-5 run for the 42-30 lead.

Wellington then blew the game wide open by the third quarter as they erected a 30-point lead, 83-53, in the final minute, before peaking at 32, 100-68, midway through the final frame off a Gill dunk.

Joshua Selby and Dane Brooks paced the Bulls in the loss with 16 points apiece, while Nunag added 5 points off the bench after averaging 14.8 markers in the last five games.

The Saints get a full week of rest as their path of destruction shifts towards the 3-2 Auckland Huskies on Friday, May 28. – Rappler.com