Hats off to Asi

It’s been a long journey from Tonga to the Philippines for Asi Taulava. When he arrived here to play for Blu Detergent in the PBL in 1997, there were doubts as to his ethnicity. Was he actually half-Filipino? Taulava was deported in the wake of suspicions of fake Fil-foreigners claiming blood lineage in 2000. Sonny Alvarado, Rob Parker and Al Segova were exposed as impostors, shipped out and never heard of again. But Taulava fought for his rights, returned in 2001 and later brought his Filipina mother Pauline Hernandez to appear before a panel of immigration interrogators to argue his case. He was eventually cleared by the Department of Justice.

Taulava was a fierce competitor on the court but a humble, friendly gentle giant off it. I remember visiting Taulava for an interview shortly after his arrival at the Ever Bilena office in Caloocan. His hair was dyed blond, his smile was infectious and he wore tsinelas. Ever Bilena owner Dioceldo Sy used to pay Manny Pacquiao P200 an hour to run laps with Taulava around the Cultural Center so the 6-10 center could build his stamina. Sy would pick up Pacquiao at the Doña Josefa Apartments on Osmeña Boulevard and bring him to Taulava for early morning runs.

Taulava joined the PBA in 1999 as a Mobiline direct hire. He played at Morningside High School in Los Angeles where Ron Jacobs once coached, Cal State at Bakersfield, Brigham Young University in Hawaii and leagues in Brazil and Sweden before moving to Manila. During his deportation from the Philippines, Taulava saw action for the San Diego Wildfire in the American Basketball Association.

In the PBA, Taulava played for Mobiline/TNT, Coca-Cola, Meralco, Air21 and NLEX. He won a championship with Mobiline in 2003 and was the Finals and league MVP that year. Taulava was the PBA Comeback Player of the Year in 2014 and a two-time scoring leader. The Fil-Tongan also played for San Miguel Beer in the ABL where he was MVP in 2013.

Taulava is a three-time Asian Games and three-time FIBA Asia Cup veteran. A high point of his Gilas career was playing on the silver medal squad at the 2015 FIBA Asia Cup in Changsha. Whenever he was called to play for the country, Taulava never wavered and gave it his all.

Taulava was activated to play his farewell PBA game last Wednesday. He had a rebound and went scoreless in 1:56 minutes. Taulava, 50, played only one game in each of the last three campaigns and wound up seeing action in 24 seasons, the most by any player. Robert Jaworski remains the oldest PBA player ever, playing his last game at 51 in 1997 but played in two less seasons. Taulava averaged 13.7 points and 10.3 rebounds in 625 games throughout his career. NLEX rookie Enoch Valdez wasn’t even born when Taulava made his pro debut in 1997 when two other NLEX rookies Dominick Fajardo and Jhan Nermal were four. Still another NLEX rookie Rich Rodger was just a few months old.

Taulava, who is married to Anna May Corveau with four daughters, will remain an NLEX goodwill ambassador, confirmed NLEX PBA Board Governor Ronald Dulatre. That will mean his continued involvement in NLEX’ outreach programs and the PBA with the Road Warriors. Whenever his schedule allows, Taulava intends to touch the lives of aspiring players and the youth playing with Gilas vets around the country and overseas. So while he’s now retired from the PBA, Taulava will stay busy in the game. He’ll forever be a legend in the PBA.