The Phone Pals were on their way to a fourth successive victory in the extra period of the thrilling encounter but Taulava rescued the Nationals with that crucial putback for the win.
Vic Pablo pushed Talk N Text ahead, 76-75, on a follow-up of an Elmer Lago missed baseline jumper with time down to 18 seconds.
The Phone Pals put a good defensive effort in the ensuing play, forcing Danny Seigle to fumble a fallaway shot. But Taulava grabbed the rebound and scored unchallenged underneath as the Nationals took the win that improved their win-loss record to 2-1.
Earlier, the Phone Pals gained a rallying point as coach Bill Bayno was ejected from the court on technical fouls midway through the fourth quarter, fighting back from an eight-point deficit to force the overtime.
Jerald Honeycutt beat the buzzer with a three-pointer off Taulava sending the game into extra period at 71-all.
So tight and resolute the defense thrown by the two teams that they could only scrape for a combined total of 65 points in the first half.
The Nationals employed an efficient help defense, holding Honeycutt to only seven points as they took a 36-29 halftime lead.