Taulava rarin’ to see daughter, future bride

Asi Taulava, the soft-spoken, likeable "gentle giant" who took Philippine basketball by storm and developed a following in a hurry, is aching to return to the Philippines to see his four-month-old daughter Asiana and to marry his girlfriend, former beauty titlist Ana Corveau.

In an exclusive overseas telephone conversation with Viva Vintage Sports, Taulava who has been playing with success in the revived American Basketball Association for the San Diego "WildFire" said, "I miss the Philippines and the PBA, but most of all I miss Ana and my little girl."

He said that his girlfriend was working hard to get his name stricken off the immigration "blacklist" so he could return to get married and help look after his daughter which he stressed, "is my first priority."

Taulava’s clearance to play in the PBA issued by former Bureau of Immigration chief Rufus Rodriguez was revoked on the grounds that he failed to prove his mother was a Filipino and the Fil-Tongan was ordered deported.

Taulava continued to insist he was half-Filipino but left the country before the deportation deadline, without any trouble but with clearly hurt feelings. He said he is still working on his papers to prove that his mother, Pauline Hernandez Mateaki, was from Samar.

The blond giant said he had "tried to come back earlier when Ana was to give birth" but he had failed to get the BID to lift the deportation order.

Taulava said he was "doing all right" and had lost a lot of weight under a special trainer whom he worked out with every morning. He said he was forced to play the small forward position in the ABA and the competition had helped take his game to another level.

ABA stats show that Taulava has been outstanding off the boards and in his last game had a double-double scoring a season high 18 points and pulling down 14 rebounds.

However, his team lost and coach Dane Suttle was fired. Former NBA player Harold Pressley of Villanova who replaced Suttle brought in four of his own players, dropping Taulava and a couple of others from the Wildfire roster.

American agent Paul Howard, a longtime friend of San Miguel consultant Ron Jacobs, said he had seen Taulava play and indicated he had clearly benefited from playing in the PBA and his game had improved a lot.

Returning to play in the PBA or even in the PBA or MBA is Taulava’s dream but his main concern right now is "to come home to my little girl and the woman I want to marry because I miss them so much."