Kenneth James D. Tuffin (born 5 May 1997) is a Filipino-New Zealand basketball player for the

Wellington Saints The Wellington Saints are a New Zealand basketball team based in Wellington. The Saints compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at TSB Bank Arena. Team history The Wellington Saints were founded in 1981. In 1 ...

of New Zealand's National Basketball League (NZNBL).

Early life and education

Tuffin was born on 5 May 1997 in New Zealand, spending his childhood in

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

. As a child, Tuffin had watched games of the New Zealand National Basketball League and his father used to take him to basketball games. For his high school studies, Tuffin attended St. Patrick's College in

Upper Hutt Upper Hutt ( mi, Te Awa Kairangi ki Uta) is a city in the Wellington Region of New Zealand and one of the four cities that constitute the Wellington#Wellington metropolitan area, Wellington metropolitan area. Geography The Upper Hutt city cent ...

. He was widely involved in his high school's academic program, playing for St Patrick's basketball,

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

, and

rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby league: 13 players per side *** Masters Rugby League *** Mod league *** Rugby league nines *** Rugby league sevens *** Touch (sport) *** Wheelchair rugby league ** Rugby union: 1 ...

teams. He moved to the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

at age 18 to pursue collegiate studies at the

Far Eastern University Far Eastern University (Filipino language, Filipino: ''Pamantasan ng Malayong Silanganan''), also referred to by its acronym FEU, is a Private university, private non-sectarian Liberal arts college, liberal arts university in Manila, Philippines ...

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...

Collegiate career

Tuffin played for the

FEU Tamaraws The FEU Tamaraws are the varsity teams of Far Eastern University in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP). The collegiate women's varsity teams are called the ''Lady Tamaraws'' while the high school varsity teams are cal ...

basketball team which played at the

University Athletic Association of the Philippines The University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP), established in 1938, is an athletic association of eight Metro Manila universities in the Philippines. The eight-member schools are Adamson University (AdU), Ateneo de Manila Univers ...

(UAAP). FEU did not finish outside the Final Four, in all seasons that Tuffin played ( Season 79 to 82; 2016–2019). In Season 82, Tuffin was made captain of the Tamaraws. After Season 82, Tuffin secured a stint with

Taranaki Mountainairs The Taranaki Airs are a New Zealand basketball team based in New Plymouth. The Airs compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at TSB Stadium. For sponsorship reasons, they are known as the Steelformers Airs. Te ...

of New Zealand's National Basketball League (NBL) while retaining his amateur status allowing Tuffin to return to FEU for Season 83 in 2021, his last season of eligibility. However Tuffin forwent his final year of eligibility after Season 83's cancellation due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

New Zealand NBL

Taranaki Mountaineers

Tuffin was the 44th overall selection in New Zealand NBL for the 2020 season. He was selected by the

. Prior to the draft, Tuffin secured consent from FEU to play in the NBL and joined the league as an amateur player. He plans to play professionally after he graduates from FEU and is open to the possibility in playing in the

Philippine Basketball Association The Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) is a men's professional basketball league in the Philippines composed of twelve company-branded franchised teams. Founded in 1975, it is the first professional basketball league in Asia and is the se ...

. However in December 2020, he decided to forego his final year of eligibility to play for FEU after UAAP Season 83's cancellation and decided to turn professional.

Wellington Saints

After suiting up for the Taranaki Mountaineers, Tuffin moved to the

for the 2021 season. Tuffin was acquired by Wellington after the team decided to skip the 2020 season. He continued on with the Saints in

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...

and

2023 Events Predicted and scheduled events * January 1 ** In the United States, books, films, and other works published in 1927 will enter the public domain, assuming there are no changes made to copyright law. ** Croatia will adopt the eu ...

National team career

Tuffin is eligible to play for the national teams of the

and

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. He is among the 23 youths included in the Philippines' #23for23 pool of players for the

2023 FIBA World Cup The 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup will be the 19th tournament of the FIBA Basketball World Cup for men's national basketball teams. The tournament will be the second to feature 32 teams. For the first time in its history, the World Cup will be h ...

. He was also included in New Zealand's pool for the 2020 Summer Olympics and the 2022 Commonwealth Games.

Personal life

Tuffin's mother was born in

Rosario Rosario () is the largest city in the central provinces of Argentina, Argentine province of Santa Fe Province, Santa Fe. The city is located northwest of Buenos Aires, on the west bank of the Paraná River. Rosario is the third-most populous ci ...

La Union La Union (), officially the Province of La Union ( ilo, Probinsia ti La Union; Kankanaey'': Probinsyan di La Union;'' Ibaloi'': Probinsya ne La Union;'' pag, Luyag/Probinsia na La Union; Tagalog'': Lalawigan ng La Union),'' is a province in th ...

and has relatives living in the provinces of

Pampanga Pampanga, officially the Province of Pampanga ( pam, Lalawigan ning Pampanga; tl, Lalawigan ng Pampanga ), is a province in the Central Luzon region of the Philippines. Lying on the northern shore of Manila Bay, Pampanga is bordered by Tarlac ...

and

Pangasinan Pangasinan, officially the Province of Pangasinan ( pag, Luyag/Probinsia na Pangasinan, ; ilo, Probinsia ti Pangasinan; tl, Lalawigan ng Pangasinan), is a coastal province in the Philippines located in the Ilocos Region of Luzon. Its capit ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tuffin, Ken 1997 births Living people FEU Tamaraws basketball players Filipino men's basketball players New Zealand men's basketball players Sportspeople from Wellington City Taranaki Mountainairs players Wellington Saints players Small forwards New Zealand people of Filipino descent Citizens of the Philippines through descent