Rocky Road

The Rock is on The Road to..
(Photo credit to the owner)

Well, the writing was indeed on the freaking wall.

The NLEX Road Warriors' 6"10 slotman Asi Taulava has officially requested team management for a trade after seeing his minutes and contribution to the team cut down by new head coach Yeng Guiao. This is not him being "selfish," but rather him coming to grips that Guiao's run and gun, spread-out offense is not suited for a low post banger such as himself. Specially not a 43-year-old one whose illustrious PBA career is already on borrowed time.

If you chanced upon our column on FoxSportsAsia.com; you would know that system-wise it was simply a bad fit for the Fil-Tonggan. Sure, he was averaging an "ageless" 14 points and 10 rebounds last season while also playing a lot as one of the team's anchors on both ends, but Guiao has never built his offense around one single player. He may give guys a few touches here and there (Paul Lee at Rain or Shine, Davonn Harp/ Enrico Villanueva at Red Bull), but he will never call successive plays for any one.

That's just his basketball philosophy.

For Taulava to be effective in Guiao's offense, he would need to move his feet. A lot. He would also need to knockdown jumpshots from 15 to 18 feet, maybe even out. This is something that maybe a 35 year old center could add to his repertoire, which will help minimize the damage in his body overall and help prolong his career, but Taulava? At 43? How much time does he have left before his championship window closes? Can he really spend his new contract with a team that is, by all means, "rebuilding?"

To appease Taulava and his fans, we would like to remind them that Guiao almost always looks after his players both past and present. Those who want out of his team, or those he simply cannot use, he sends to solid franchises and not expansion teams. Ronnie Matias to Star. Ronjay Buenafe to Meralco. Arwind Santos to San Miguel. Ryan Arana to San Miguel. Willie Miller to TNT.

See? No matter where he was, if a player asks for a trade or just doesn't fit, Guiao makes it possible for those players to still enjoy playing for quality teams.

Now where Taulava ends is going to be fun, because realistically speaking, he could be the missing (big) piece to a championship contender.

Where do you think Taulava's going to end up?

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