AFTER a three-year stint in New Zealand, Ken Tuffin is ready to come home.
The Filipino-New Zealander bared that he plans to join the PBA Rookie Draft next year.
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"I intend to return to the Philippines and put my name in the PBA Draft," he told Spin.ph.
Tuffin, 25, is an athletic 6-foot-5 forward who played for Far Eastern University in the UAAP, can be a 3-and-D option for teams.
Since the pandemic hit, he returned to New Zealand and initially played with the Taranaki Mountainairs before moving to the Wellington Saints and helping the team claim the 2021 NZ NBL championship.
He continued to be a valuable piece of the Saints this 2022 season, averaging 8.2 points on 37-percent shooting from deep, 2.7 rebounds and 1.0 assist in 22.9 minutes of action as the team reached the playoffs as the fourth-seed before being eliminated by eventual runner-up Auckland Tuatara in the play-in phase.
Tuffin, who shot 43-percent from deep in his three seasons in NZ NBL, was previously included in coach Chot Reyes' "23-for-2023" Gilas Pilipinas pool and was also shortlisted in the Tall Blacks' pool.