Aging Taulava wants to wear PHL colors as long as he can

GUANGZHOU, China – At 37, Asi Taulava is the oldest player in the men’s basketball competition of the ongoing 16th Asian Games. But his drive to help the cause of the Philippine basketball team never waned, and in fact Taulava wants to wear the PHL colors as long as he can. “He wants to be in the Philippine team," said PHL-Smart Gilas assistant coach Chot Reyes, who had Taulava as his starting center when the country placed ninth in the 2007 FIBA Asia Men’s Championship in Tokushima, Japan. “Kilala siya ng lahat dito at gusto rin siya ng mga kasama niya. He’s in his element here," the Talk ‘N Text mentor added. Taulava is the only Gilas player who had Asian Games experience as he also suited up for the PHL 5 in the 2002 Asiad in Busan, South Korea under head coach Jong Uichico. The 6-foot-9 Filipino-Tongan is one of the three PBA players that Serbian coach Rajko Toroman had requested to beef up his young team. The other two are Kelly Williams and Solomon Mercado. Though he’s no longer as quick and as offensive-minded as before, Taulava remains an integral piece in the country’s quest to win a medal in the quadrennial meet for the first time since placing third in 1998. “He’s admirable even at 37. He comes out and does what he does best," said Reyes. “Ang problema lang sa pagkawala ni Marcus (Douthit). Nag-start kasi siya sa team as back-up pero ngayon main man. He’s playing a lot of minutes but he has no choice." The 6-foot-10 Douthit is the team’s naturalized player and will start campaigning for the PHL 5 next year after having only secured his Philippine passport days before the team left for Guangzhou. Taulava, together with skipper Chris Tiu, are the spiritual leaders of the team. That’s why a lot of things are expected from the PBA slotman, who was also part of the 2009 FIBA Asia qualifier in Tianjin that finished eighth with Yeng Guiao as coach. In the PHL 5’s 48-65 loss to Iran, Taulava was held down to just a single rebound in 29 minutes and Reyes said the Powerade center was very disappointed with his performance. “Asi took the loss hard. We told him he’s the lone inside presence in this team pero wala ka sa flow. We didn’t feel you were there," said Reyes. “The next game (against Qatar), he was very aggressive, banging hard, providing screens and leadership," added Reyes. Taulava had 10 points and eight rebounds in 19 minutes in the team’s 90-68 win over Qatar . – JVP, GMANews.TV