Asi Taulava: MVP at 40

Asi Taulava’s career has been a tumultuous one. The once celebrated rookie has been scrutinized for his behavior, had his citizenship questioned a number of times, and was even deported at one point. However, through it all, Asi has proved that he is here to stay. After being booted off Barangay Ginebra and signing with the San Miguel Beermen in the ASEAN Basketball League or ABL, Asi has been playing better than ever, and at 40 years old, an age by which most basketball players are already retired, he has been named MVP.

“Sports Pilipinas” host Chino Trinidad met up with the rejuvenated cager to talk about how he rebooted his basketball game at an age when most players’ knees are giving out. He also spoke about his newfound focus and dedication to the game he loves.

Read the full transcript below.





On being an older basketball player

Chino Trinidad (CT): I don't know how to address you right now. I don't want to say you're old because saying you're old that makes me a dinosaur, yeah?

Asi Taulava (AT): You know, if you get offended by words that comes out, other people saying, that's on you. But if you just smile and just (say), “Hey, I'm old, I’m coming.” I take it as a competition, competitive. So you know, it's just an interview. If an older guy tells me I'm old, get ready, I'm coming for him.

CT: As they say, age is what? A matter of performance?

AT: Performance. It's just a number for me.

CT: I know, it is, for all of us at least.

AT: It's like, I got to 40, (so) instead of getting older, I'm trying to get younger.

CT: Others fear making it 40, but I mean, you epitomize, as they say, “Life begins at 40.” I mean, your basketball life seemed to have really started, I mean, you rebooted your basketball life at age 40. How is that so?

AT: Dedication. Just focus. Wanting to be ... This, I guess (is) the competitive fire in me. Knowing the younger guys are getting better, you see all these guys just coming in, came in from Gilas, the guys coming in from the  UAAP, the NCAA ... They're unbelievable, you know. Of course, competitive wise, you know the game is adapting. It's changed, you know. The young guys speed the game up so if you're not in shape, you're not fit for it, you're in a lot of trouble.



On the longevity of his basketball career

CT: Talking of dedication all these years, you came in, 1998. What year is this now?

AT: [I came in] '99 In the PBA.

CT: And this is year 2013. How did you survive the rough and tumble world of professional basketball? And then, even before we go to the next phase, which is like a new life for you, but how did you survive that long?

AT: Everything is experience. Lucky for me in the PBA, you see guys come and go, I've seen guys come in and I've seen what I have to do to change, in order to survive professional basketball. It's not easy. It's not a walk in the park. And one thing that worked for me is my height and my size. There's not that many big guys. Big guys, there's just probably a legitimate 10 to 15 of us.

CT: You're still a rare breed.

AT: Rare breed of big guys. Compared to the guards, there are so many. There are so many they can choose from, but as a big guy, you still have to do your part. You have to keep yourself in shape and keep fit, and at the same time know how to eat properly. That's the mistake I had when I was younger. I didn't know how to do that.

CT: You fell in love with lechon.

AT: I fell in love with lechon, crispy pata, everything that was bad. But you know, it wasn't so bad. It's just I knew how to eat properly, you know. It's okay to eat that but you know, you know how to manage it. You know how to manage yourself and you can't eat like that and then put on two big bowls of rice, eat some carbs, and other things that you're not supposed to. Just got to do it the right way.



On being declared MVP at age 40

CT: Winning an MVP at a time when everyone was like riding the sunset, retiring. I mean these are the words that are said to players that can't even bring themselves to working out, but all of a sudden we see you playing. Playing well and then on top of it, leading the San Miguel team to a championship and winning the MVP. I mean, were you reborn? Something happened along the way.

AT: I guess a great deal of it has to do with the support team I had. I mean, my last two years in the PBA ... I mean, it was pretty rocky. I was losing my confidence but I have my wife and my agent with me. They just kept pushing me, they said, “It's not that bad. You can get through this.” And when this opportunity came up, when I had the chance to switch over to the ABL, you know, I think it was better for me to give more time for my family, and got my priorities straight. I think basketball just became easy. I was enjoying the game. I was putting in extra time and when the game started, it was easy. It was unbelievable, I don't even know (the) words to describe it. I can't believe the way I was playing. it felt like one big dream.



On taking care of his body and staying healthy

CT: I know, it's like Asi being, it's like, you know when we started, we never had these media players and all. Remember, we had a player, it's like putting your VCR on rewind and here you are, like 20 years younger. But everything has, as they say, it happens for a purpose. You were blessed with the opportunity to enjoy life, as you said earlier, maybe you enjoyed it too much.

AT: I think I took full advantage of it, you know. Night life, the booze, and then as I got older, I sat back and looked at it, that wasn't good for my career. I wish everything I knew now, I knew, 10 years ago. But this, it's just... Sit here and think about it, how good I could have been if I would have learned. It would have been like this. Dedicated, eat properly, get eight hours of sleep in ... That probably would have been pretty scary.

CT: You're like a teenager, sleeping eight hours a day now. I can ask your wife.

AT: I put in a lot of hours. She gets mad at me, that I sleep too much. She wakes me up to tell me to help her with the kids and I'm like, “Hey, come on. I need to sleep, I need my beauty sleep for the age.”



On his motivation for playing

CT: You said you're dedicating your life to basketball. Of course, this is something you grew up loving and this is something that would provide for your family, yeah? This is what you are, this is who you are.

AT: Exactly. You know, that's probably why I'm so motivated. I know I have four daughters that I have to provide for. Looking at it like my former coach, Coach Ryan, he says, “You know, there's cast there. It’s either you want it, or you gonna give it to the next, new opponent. So you have to play the game the proper way.” I should thank him for that, you know. I can't go out there and try to make friends, you know, when I'm on the floor, when I'm competing. It's just one of two things: Either you win (and) you get the bonus, or you lose and you just donate the bonus to your opposition. So as I go out there, I just got that focus, This guy's stealing money from me so I'm not gonna let him do it. So I'm gonna go out there and play 110 percent, give it everything I want and I can, just for the win, and then afterwards, thank the man upstairs for blessing me all this time.



On being given a chance to redeem himself in a different league

CT: I mean definitely, blessed with... No one, not everyday do we see someone being given a chance to redeem himself and to get that shot, second shot. In this field, there are no second chances. It doesn't happen to the rest of the guys, but here you are, having been able to enjoy life, having been able to enjoy everything that comes from being a basketball... not just a star but a superstar in the Philippines, and now you get blessed with this wonderful opportunity.

AT: I'm just so blessed. You know, every night, I sit there and thank (inaudible) for it. You know, this opportunity. You know, it's very rare. He said, you know, I've been through everything but just to get this second chance... Imagine, 10 years later, I come back like I was when I won my first MVP, and I sit there and like wow, I didn't know how to celebrate when I won my first championship and my first... This time I didn't know what to do. I called my wife. I just won a championship, imagine at 40, being out there, being so competitive and playing against the younger guys, and then at the end of the night, you see the young guys come up and you still got it.

CT: I got the surprise of my life. I thought you were a goner. I mean, the way that they portrayed you: “Was this is his last year? I mean, he can hardly pick himself up.” And then you win the MVP. What was it? How motivated were you to prove to everyone that, “Hey, my time isn't up yet!”?

AT: Oh, I wasn't thinking as the MVP when I first went to the ABL. The whole thing was helping San Miguel win the championship. And I guess I stayed focused on winning that championship, and I guess if you want to win, everything else just follows. So the MVP just fell on my lap, you know. I'm so grateful for it but (inaudible) the whole season was “win the championship.” So you know, I can feel great that I made that switch scoring from PBA to ABL and trying to start a new path, a new beginning.



“Is Asi gonna come back and play for Ginebra?”

CT: I know a lot of people are saying this is like the million dollar question, “Is Asi gonna come back and play for Ginebra?” You know, people have told me they've been coming up with lines with hashtags, like, “Oh, Ginebra! Asi fits Ginebra.” It will be “Asi on the rocks” because they still refer to you as “The Rock” when you first came in. Do you see that happening? Do you see yourself getting back to the PBA and playing for Ginebra?

AT: You know, that's always been my... I got to be grateful to that, the PBA. I wanted to go back and finish my career there but right now that's not up to me. That's between San Miguel and boss Manny, boss MVP. You know, if they can work out a deal for my rights, then I'll be a happy camper. You know, I'll be ready to come back, but at the meantime, I got to let them deal with all the paperworks, trades for my rights. I don't know what's going to happen but right now I'm just on vacation mode for the next six months.



On making himself available for the national team

CT: But on vacation, you made it very clear that in the event ... As you said, big guys aren't easy to come about. You're a dying breed, I suppose. But not to use the line “breed” but maybe your breed, the big guys, the national team, they need size, they need someone that can not just commit the fouls, but be the presence inside. You have made yourself available for them. You feel you have an unfinished business with the national team?

AT: If they need me, you know, I'm there. I'm not the type of guy that played the nationals for the longest of my whole career. You know, if Coach Chot needs me, and he needs another big guy, you know, I keep myself in shape. Now, I'm not like the old Asi, when I say I'm on vacation, I'm sitting on somewhere boozing it up. I still make sure I get my... I have my personal trainer, Monday, Wednesday, Friday. It's not the same guy from the past. So when I say...



On staying fit

CT: Oh, you've got yourself a personal trainer?

AT: Coach John. So I go in there early in the morning, Monday, Wednesday, Friday, after I drop off the kids at school. Put in two hours, and then I have the rest of the day to myself.

CT: You really just, you technically rebooted your basketball life.

AT: I wish I was doing this 10 years ago. It's like I waited and I waited, but it's never too late. So, you know ... Hey, old guys! It's never too late.

CT: And you're a testament to what I said earlier, that life, at least basketball life, begins at 40, yeah?

AT: Very true.

CT: I mean, you're a living testimony to that.

AT: It's just, I guess we just have to be competitive, you know. You got to stay motivated. You know, set a goal, you know. Like off season, you hear all the professionals say that until you start doing it, you know, everything starts in the off season. Right now, I have a long break but I still make sure that I do everything I do in the off season so when I get in the season, I'm in shape, I'm ready to play, and all I have to do is learn coach's play and basketball just becomes easy. So there's always a reason, and especially the past six months, the only thing I have to focus on was San Miguel Beermen. So I didn't have two choices of playing the national team and San Miguel. I just focused and I had a lot more energy. Because it was so taxing going from practice to the next and I have my club team practice in the morning and then the national team in the afternoon, and you know, doing two practices, it was pretty tiring, but I never complained because it was flag and country. And you know, it's always an honor to represent the national team, so I never complained about it. And then this time around, I just had one job and that was just to play in the ABL, stay focused. And it helped me, and at the same time, stay in shape.



On his regrets in his career

CT: If you get a chance to just sit down under a shade of tree, maybe on a nice beach, without the booze, all right, without the lechon, and just looking back at everything you have done since 1999, the first time you came into the Philippines and just blew everyone apart with your size, with your competitiveness, is there something else you regret not being able to do?

AT: Another one, getting a medal on the national team. We came so close so many times and it just seems like it keeps avoiding me, but I guess that's just the way basketball (inaudible) tells me, that I didn't deserve it. Because I wasn't dedicated and I didn't get myself in shape enough to get that medal. If I would have known what I know now when I was in the national team, I was younger, I bet it had been a different story. I would have had the stamina to do more stuff, extra stuff to help the team win. I guess I was just short changing the team and myself, and that's why I didn't get that medal, and that's why it's avoiding me for so long, you know. (Inaudible) knocking on the door, with a silver medal. It's my semi final guest career, we beat Korea two times, twice... And then just last year...

CT: This is lightning striking twice. Remember in 2002, you were in Busan, and all we needed was to get that. It would have been a silver medal, at least, yeah? How painful was that for a player? I mean, it was painful enough for us observers, being able to join you as you prepare, seeing you guys, just dedicating your entire two months to the national team, and yet getting that near... That hurts. You still feel it?

AT: I still feel it up to today, you know. Every time you think about the national team, and then it's just wasted opportunity, you know. Me and Dondon, we always chat back and forth, you know. When Dondon's after a one day (inaudible) in the ABL, he sent a message, “Hey, just imagine if you was dedicated like that. We would have made the Olympics. You know, won a medal.” And I apologized to him. Dondon, that's my fault. I should have been more focused and just dedicated. You know, Dondon, he's an inspiration too, you know. We come from the same batch. He's a little bit younger, but did you seem him in the finals against Alaska? That's amazing.

CT: This is like, Jurassic Park, where everyone just comes to life, MVP (inaudible) player, coming back, like Dondon, yourself.

AT: The dinosaur guys, we are ready.

CT: The dinosaurs are back.

AT: The dinosaurs are back, 100 years old.



On how he would like to end his basketball career

CT: But on a final note, what would the perfect ending for Asi be, as far as basketball is concerned? We've seen your life, it's been under the microscope for the longest time..

AT: Yeah it's been very colorful.

CT: You know, you get deported, you get your citizenship questioned, they scrutinized you, they tore you apart, but hey, you've stood the test of time. You've survived it, and here you are happily enjoying, rejuvenated and everything. How do you see, how do you, if given the chance, how do you see this one ending? Or do you even want to end it?

AT: I guess the perfect ending would be, how my career started. Every... when was it... '99, my rookie year, the best team in the PBA, and Bow David sent us to the locker room, I think that’s it. Play for Ginebra, deliver a championship, and then walk away from it.

CT: That page, I remember doing that game. You had a twice to beat advantage, and then you get beaten twice, and you cried your heart out that game, remember? And that has stuck with you and that's the reason why you want, I was saving this for last, I mean if you can’t beat them, join them.

CT: It was tough, you know. I guess that loss to Ginebra, to Bal David, made me who... the man I am today, you know. I could have easily just quit. Just some other guys do not want to be that guy, that go to guy, but I embraced it throughout my whole career, time and time, that's (why I) always came up. And you know, that kind of lights the fire, you know. But you don't do anything about it, you just go out there and work and prove (to) yourself that's not gonna happen again. And that, put that together with, against South Korea, same thing. Bal David all over again, but I forgot that guy's game from Korea that hit that jumper from the end. Moon, I hate Moons.

CT: Especially that guy who shot the three point shot.

AT: Talking about Bals and Moons, like it's just...

CT: It gives you a fixed eye again. You've dreamed about it. You have nightmares about it.

AT: Yeah, I still have nightmares about it. That was a silver medal. I guess I was just... I guess my rookie year was just a wake up, but I didn't see it back then and now, when I sit here thinking about those days, and I think it was... Most logical thing is, if you're gonna retire, if you're gonna retire from the PBA. The best way is to ... Everybody wants to play for Ginebra. Well, you could play forever, you remember Coach Sonny Jaworski. How old was he when he was playing? 100? The senator, Senator J. I'm not trying to break that record, I don't know if my knees can hold up that long.

CT: But how long can you keep this up? I mean, do you give yourself like a calendar, a timeline, wherein Asi says, “This is it. I will have to bid this game goodbye.”?

AT: After every season, with my wife and Sheryl, we sit down and we (evaluate) everything. See how my body feels, and especially on the course of my workouts with my personal trainer, if I can push myself like the season before and get in better shape. And you know, that's what I was telling you earlier. I was playing like 240, 245 in the season, so I'm gonna be a year older next season, so I’m gonna have to drop down to 240. So that way my body feels good I don't have any problems, extra weight. So everything just planned up and especially talking to my trainer. He's got the workouts, how I eat, everything there. So when I walk-in and I do my workouts and i'm kind of sluggish, I'm kind of tired, he knows I did something bad, so he pushes me. So I've been with him, together for the past three years, so he basically knows me like a book. So I can't hide anything from him. He just comes in and gives me that look when he walks through that door, “Oh, you had a rough one last night.” He would know. So even if I come in looking tired, and he knows I did something wrong and bad, we're gonna get everything out of your system today. So it could have been, it's gonna be hell in there, it's gonna be two hours of hell, of non-stop going, you know, because he does intervals especially when he...

CT: The thing is, you do this and you're loving it, not like before, I felt like you resented it, you don't like to run.

AT: If I had a rough night, I wouldn't show up in the gym.

CT: That was the old Asi. So this is a totally brand new Asi Taulava. Everything you do in the off season, all the pros, Lebron, and all the guys in the NBA, they say you're not just gonna wake up tomorrow and perform. You might get it in one game but you're not gonna get in in consistent basis. So everything is consistency.

CT: Truly, life begins at 40.

AT: Thank you, thank you.

CT: Stay young.

AT: Always. This is for all the veterans out there. We’re not done yet. We’re gonna get you. Hey young guys, you better be in shape. Don’t sleep too much. You can’t sleep all day.

CT: All right. Stay away from the lechon ha.

AT: Just a little bit, just a little bit.

 

–Grace Gaddi/PF, GMA News