Asi moves on to ABL

ASI!

Sing no sad songs for the 6"9 Fil-Tonggan who captivated the hearts of many the minute he stepped on a local basketball gym-- dimpled smile, faux blonde hairdo and all. Yes, Asi Taulava will no longer be part of the Meralco Bolts or even the Philippine Basketball Association this season. The self-christened "Rock" has opted to sign with the ASEAN Basketball League's San Miguel Beermen in hopes of bringing the Filipino squad its first title in only its sophomore year.

Was this the right move going forward for Taulava?

Yes. The Beermen play only once a week (as is the schedule of the ABL) as compared to the PBA's grueling schedule. They enjoy cable television coverage which is always hard to argue against (despite the fact that we were made to watch the whole of the ABL Season 3 Finals Game 3 between the Indonesia Warriors and the Beermen in bloody red color setting). It's San Miguel. Plus, Taulava is already 39 years going 40.

As a player, countless writers have called or labeled Taulava as being one of the, if not the most, dominant players to ever grace the PBA hardcourt. We'd career averages of 15 points and 11 rebounds from 1999 to 2012, that's pretty hard to argue against. BUT... this writer says that Taulava wasn't THAT dominant. The better word would be, just like his moniker embodies, "consistent."

While other big men of Taulava's time would quickly fall off due to age (Dennis Espino), injuries (Danny Ildefonso, Eric Menk) or lack of passion (Marlou Aquino), The Rock was always putting up (near) double-doubles day in and day out. His best season came during his MVP year in 2002 wherein he led his team to his only PBA title, but after that it was back to the same old Taulava.

No disrespect, but Taulava built a career more on effort and size rather than skill. He has failed to really reach his full potential as a true big man of the game because he never really bothered to improve his back-to-the-basket post moves enough. He breaks out some nifty moves from time to time, but never really in a Espino/ Menk/ Ildefonso manner wherein you just know that if he's given the basketball even if he's 10-12 feet away from the basket, he's bound to make a play.

Still, not too shabby for a guy who's been sent away, then back, then away again. He could've easily dropped everything here and played in whatever other smaller leagues there are in America or elsewhere. But no, with a proud warrior's heart he kept on pushing and gamely, nay, proudly wore Pilipinas' red, blue, white and yellow time and again. He proved it again by putting up "Built Upon the Rock" from the ground up when other sports head wouldn't even dare come out in the open to offer their assistance or support.

Will we ever see the old 15-11 Rock back in the ABL? Don't count on it. The man is 39 after all, and most teams over there field in imports for bigs with the locals coming in as support. Still, not a bad upgrade for the Beermen who just lost their own 6"10 giant June Mar Fajardo to this year's PBA Draft. What they lost in youth and potential, they gained in international experience, veteran savvy and an already established fan base.

Thank you Asi for letting Ginebra and Bal David win during your rookie year.

And then your sophomore year.

Thank you for the highly entertaining years with Mobiline/ Talk 'n' Text, Coca Cola and Meralco.

Thank you for the years of service with the Philippine basketball team.

Good luck with the Beermen and bring that ABL title back to Philippine soil!

Oh, and try not to punch any foreign nut-grabber this time around. ;)