Moala Tautuaa

In this Philippine name, the middle name or maternal family name is Delvalleand the surname or paternal family name is Tautuaa.

Moala Tautuaa

Tautuaa with TNT in 2016
No. 3–San Miguel Beermen
Position	Center / power forward
League	PBA
Personal information
Born	(1989-04-30) April 30, 1989 (age 35) San Mateo, California
Nationality	Filipino / Tongan
Listed height	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
Listed weight	245 lb (111 kg)
Career information
High school	Claremont (Claremont, California)
College	Chadron State (2008–2012)
NBA draft	2012: undrafted
PBA draft	2015: 1st round, 1st overall
Selected by the Talk 'N Text Tropang Texters
Playing career	2012–present
Career history
2012–2014	Westports Malaysia Dragons
2015–2018	TNT Tropang Texters / Tropang TNT / TNT KaTropa
2018–2019	NorthPort Batang Pier
2019–present	San Miguel Beermen
Career highlights and awards
2× PBA champion (2022 Philippine, 2023–24 Commissioner's) PBA Most Improved Player (2019) PBA All-Star (2017)
Medals Men's basketball Representing   Philippines William Jones Cup 2015 Taipei Team Southeast Asian Games 2021 Hanoi Team Men's 3x3 basketball Representing   Philippines Southeast Asian Games 2019 Philippines Team

Moala Delvalle Tautuaa Jr. ^[1] (born April 30, 1989) ^[2] is an American born Filipino-Tongan professional basketball player for the San Miguel Beermen of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). He was drafted first overall by the TNT Tropang Texters in the 2015 PBA draft.

High school and college career

Tautuaa attended high school at Claremont High School in Claremont, California. ^[3] In his senior year at Claremont High, he averaged 21 points and seven rebounds per game. ^[4]

He suited up for Chadron State College, an NCAA Division II school. He led the CSC Eagles in scoring with 12.9 points a game and rebounding with 5.6 per game 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. ^[5]

Professional career

ABL / PBA D-League

He applied for the 2012 NBA draft but went undrafted. ^[6] He then decided to resume his basketball career by playing as an import for the Westports Malaysia Dragons in the ASEAN Basketball League. ^[7] Initially discovered by former PBA player Pongky Alolor, he was introduced to KL Dragons' head coach Ariel Vanguardia during the latter's visit to San Francisco and was recruited to join the team. He became teammates and friends with PBA player Justin Melton. He averaged 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.

After his stint in the ABL, he processed his citizenship papers at the Bureau of Immigration of the Philippines to prove his Filipino lineage ^[8] and applied for the 2014 PBA D-League Draft, where he was drafted first overall by Cagayan Rising Suns. He helped the Suns reach the Finals against the powerhouse Hapee Fresh Fighters. He was then signed by the Cebuana Lhuillier Gems into a one-conference contract, where he spent the remainder of the season. ^[9] He was the 2015 PBA D-League Foundation Cup MVP while playing for Cebuana Lhuillier and took them to the semifinals. ^[10]

PBA

After spending a season in the D-League, he applied, along with 16 other Fil-Foreigners, for the 2015 PBA draft, according to the list released by the PBA on August 10, 2015. ^[11] He, along with former NU Bulldog Troy Rosario, was the consensus top pick leading to the draft day. ^[12]

On August 23, 2015, he was drafted 1st overall by the TNT Tropang Texters in the rookie draft. ^[13] On August 27, 2015, both he and newly acquired #2 pick Troy Rosario signed maximum three-year rookie contracts with Talk 'N Text worth ₱ 8.5 million. ^[14]

PBA career statistics

Legend
GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game
FG%	Field-goal percentage	3P%	3-point field-goal percentage	FT%	Free-throw percentage
RPG	Rebounds per game	APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game
BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game	Bold	Career high

As of the end of 2023–24 season ^[15]

Season-by-season averages

Year	Team	GP	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2015–16	TNT	41	17.6	.541	.289	.600	4.1	1.2	.4	.2	8.9
2016–17	TNT	59	17.3	.519	.152	.563	4.7	.8	.3	.2	7.9
2017–18	TNT	34	25.5	.500	.290	.649	8.1	1.9	.5	.4	9.8
	GlobalPort / NorthPort
2019	NorthPort	38	31.2	.499	.321	.670	7.5	2.9	.7	.2	14.0
	San Miguel
2020	San Miguel	13	35.2	.602	.333	.600	8.1	2.5	.9	.5	18.6
2021	San Miguel	32	19.1	.507	.293	.686	4.6	.8	.3	.4	9.0
2022–23	San Miguel	50	20.0	.559	.378	.542	4.9	1.5	.4	.2	8.9
2023–24	San Miguel	43	18.2	.500	.372	.597	4.2	1.0	.4	.5	6.4
Career		310	21.4	.524	.307	.607	5.4	1.5	.4	.3	9.5

International career

In 2015, Tautuaa joined the Gilas Pilipinas 3.0 training pool as a practice player and went with the entire team to Estonia to participate in a pocket tournament. He also saw action in the 2015 William Jones Cup where Gilas won the silver medal.

He would only be eligible to play for any FIBA sanctioned tournament as an alternate naturalized player since he was not able to secure his Philippine passport before he turned 16 years old. ^[16]

Player profile

Tautuaa is a versatile big man. He is considered a stretch "five" with ball-handling skills, range, passing abilities and someone who can rack up points, rebounds, assists, blocks, etc., not to mention his penchant for dunks, putbacks, chasing down loose balls and his uncanny basketball IQ. ^[17]

Personal life

Tautuaa's father is Moala Sr. from the Pacific Island nation of Tonga, while his mother is Romanita (née Del Valle), a Filipina, who hails from Taguig. ^{[18] [19]} He earned a degree in Criminal Justice, and can also speak Tagalog. ^[20] He is often teased with the nickname "Pebbles". ^[21]

References

1. "Moala Delvalle Tautuaa was born on April 30, 1989 in San Mateo County, California". californiabirthindex.org. California Birth Index . Retrieved May 8, 2020.
2. Player Profile at ESPN
3. Terrado, Reuben (December 8, 2014). "PBA team lucky enough to draft Moala Tautuaa will owe debt of gratitude to this lady. Find out who she is". Spin.ph. Retrieved August 27, 2015.
4. Fidel Mangonon III (September 7, 2012). "Vanguardia's 'Twin towers' plan ruined after Asi joins Beermen". Spin.ph. Retrieved October 23, 2015.
5. "Moala Tautuaa continuing his basketball career". ChadronEagles.com. October 25, 2012. Retrieved August 23, 2015.
6. "2 NBA Unrestricted Free Agents sa PBA D-League draft pool". The Philippine Star . September 11, 2014. Retrieved August 23, 2015.
7. "Moala Tautuaa continuing his basketball career". ChadronEagles.com. October 25, 2012. Retrieved August 23, 2015.
8. Dy, Richard (August 5, 2014). "Fil-Tongan Moala Tautuaa begins working on citizenship papers in bid to play in PBA". Spin.ph. Retrieved August 25, 2015.
9. "Facts and figures about the 2015 PBA Rookie Draft applicants". Sports5 . August 10, 2015. Archived from the original on August 17, 2015. Retrieved August 24, 2015.
10. Escarlote, Mark (October 23, 2015). "Bad start, a learning experience for rookies Tautuaa, Rosario". ABS-CBN Sports. Retrieved October 24, 2015.
11. "Full list of 2015 PBA Rookie Draft Applicants". Philippine Daily Inquirer . August 10, 2015. Retrieved August 11, 2015.
12. Leongson, Randolph B. (August 17, 2015). "Top draft prospects Tautuaa, Rosario to miss 2015 Draft Combine, PBA Draft". Philippine Daily Inquirer . Retrieved August 25, 2015.
13. "Moala Tautuaa goes first overall in 2015 PBA Draft". Rappler . August 23, 2015. Retrieved August 23, 2015.
14. Ramos, Gerry (August 27, 2015). "Moala Tautuaa, Troy Rosario get maximum, three-year rookie deal with Talk 'N Text". Spin.ph. Retrieved August 27, 2015.
15. "Moala Tautuaa Player Profile, San Miguel Beermen – RealGM". basketball.realgm.com.
16. Joble, Rey (August 16, 2015). "Moala Tautuaa to join Gilas Pilipinas in Estonia; Injured Ranidel De Ocampo could miss trip". InterAksyon.com. Retrieved 25 August 2015.
17. Zarate, Noel (February 16, 2015). "A case for Moala Tautuaa as the top 2015 PBA draft pick". Yahoo! Sports Singapore. Retrieved 27 August 2015.
18. Reuben Terrado (November 20, 2014). "Fil-Tongan Moala Tautuaa scores 26 in debut – and he's still adjusting to D-League physicality". Spin.ph. Retrieved August 23, 2015.
19. Ramos, Gerry (June 24, 2015). "Top rookie prospect Moala Tautuaa ready to play for PBA 'team that wants me the most'". Spin.ph. Retrieved August 25, 2015.
20. "Filipino Ballers in the US...News and Updates". InterBasket.com. Retrieved August 23, 2015.
21. "VIDEO: What Mo Tautuaa thinks of his Gilas nickname 'Pebbles'". InterAksyon.com. 11 September 2015. Archived from the original on 2 February 2017.