Asi the changed man

When Asi Taulava made a big splash in Philippine basketball, he instantly had it all. Everybody knew the blond, 6-10 center, but mostly for things other than his basketball skill. True, he did average 17 points a game in 37 outings for Mobiline, but it was the extra-curriculars which circulated faster than an alley oop slam dunk.

There were the late nights, drinking, and general carrying on that marked Taulava more indelibly than the tattoos on his huge arms. He lived in a posh hotel, and had the world, it seemed, at his fingertips, even if his numbers on the court weren’t the stats expected from someone of his stature.

Then the world came crashing down on him. He was deported and blacklisted by the Bureau of Immigration, but not before marrying his girlfriend, Anna May Corveau, who was by then with child. He left for the US almost a broken man.

"It was hard," he told The STAR. "Especially when I had to face the Filipino communities there. I couldn’t satisfy all of their questions with my answers. I didn’t know what I was going to do."

In the interim, Taulava played in the American Basketball Association, but has since lost an incredible 45 pounds. At his first workout with Mobiline, he was faster and jumped higher, though he seemed a little short-winded. Was this part of the new look?

"It was mostly depression, though I did work out a lot," he reveals. "I can account for the working out, but I did sit around at home a lot, wondering what I was going to do. It was bad. I wanted to be here for Anna May to give birth. It doesn’t say much about you if you can’t be there for one of your own."

Finally, last week, as his bride filed a petition to allow Asi back into the country, the lean, tired, black-braided giant stepped back on Philippine soil. His first order of business was to see his daughter, Asiana, now four months old, for the very first month.

"You remember that look you had on your face when you first saw your child? " he asked me. "I broke into tears when I first saw her. I couldn’t put her down. I held her in my arms. I slept with her on my chest, I just wanted to watch her sleep. I couldn’t believe there was this little being, this child brought into the world, who looks just like me.

"You know, I never thought of myself as a father. I never realized it would feel this good."

Today, the new Asi Taulava swears he’s through with the nightlife, and wants to settle down, be a good husband and father. But he smiles at how naughty he’s been. The smile fades, though, when he contemplates the responsibilities he faces, not just to his team, but to his family.

"After a while, you get tired of going out. My immediate plans now are for Asiana to get baptized, then for us to get married. I’m excited. I still don’t know who to invite, who’ll be best man, godfathers. We’ll have to sit down and talk about it."

I asked him if he felt that he was treated unfairly, if everything was blown out of proportion, just because he was a giant among men himself.

"I can’t say that, I can’t say that for the BI and DOJ (Dept. of Justice). If the situation were reversed and I was in their place, I would have done that same. They can’t say "Oh, let’s be nice to Asi." They’re just doing their job. And they’re right. There are some documents that I still have to show them."

Inevitably, talk turns to how all the stress has affected his game, if the lost weight has drained him, as it seems to have done. In fact, during our conversation, he repeatedly had to hike up his sweat pants, because they were the clothes he left behind, when he was still a massive 280 pounds.

"I want to trim myself down to an ideal basketball player, not a football player, he quips. "I’m a little faster, and I’m not that guy with all those muscles."

It seems that time has indeed mellowed Asi Taulava, and he considers it a miracle that he has a second chance to make good on the limitless promise that his career, and now his new family possess.

Not everyone is given that chance, Asi. Make it count.