MO Tautuaa didn't let a nose injury stop him from contributing to NorthPort’s big win over San Miguel in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup.
Tautuaa had to insert tissues in his nose to stem the bleeding in the Batang Pier’s 121-88 win over the Beermen - the most lopsided win in the franchise's history.
The Fil-Tongan said he believes the nose is already broken after being hit by an inadvertent elbow in a game against TNT last May 29 and again on Wednesday night.
“I think I broke my nose,” said Tautuaa. “I got hit in the TNT game. Terrence (Jones) elbowed my nose so I felt like it weakened it.”
“Then, I don’t know, I got hit again. It is bleeding out of control so I jammed a bunch of tissue in there and hoped that it stopped,” Tautuaa said.
Tautuaa went to the hospital after the game to check on the extent of the injury.
“It hurts. They are taking me to the hospital right now and check because I can’t breath out of it,” said Tautuaa.
Despite the injury, the 6-foot-8 Tautuaa collected 11 points and 10 rebounds as the Batang Pier joined Blackwater in first place on 4-1 (win-loss) cards.
“I love it, man. When we play as a team, you can really tell. We struggle when we play individually," said the NorthPort big man.
"There are games like tonight where we do play and everyone is on the scoreboard. It helps when our whole team is clicking together.”
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