Moala Tautuaa

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]

As of the end of 2022–23 season[15]

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]

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]

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]