The Final Score: Asi Taulava - 6’9

It really depends on whether you look at basketball as half-empty or half-full. The pessimist believes Asi Taulava remains relevant at age 37 because we don’t have enough Asi Taulavas to choose from. For the optimist, the five-player-three-team trade to move Taulava from Powerade to Meralco is a testament to his longevity.

Any PBA trade which involves three teams is like a long exchange of tweets between three people with a lot of direct messages (DM’s) stuffed in between. It’s nearly impossible to take the Taulava trade at face value. In the stock market of players, where businessmen exchange handshakes, knowing winks and seven-figure contracts, there is no such thing as a lopsided trade. I always believe that in trades, which are both basketball and business transactions, nobody loses. Theoretically, all parties receive what they negotiate for. Otherwise, the deal involving Meralco, Powerade and Barako Bull would never push through. Therefore, to move Taulava from point A to point B to point C three teams had to be pleased. That’s a lot of pleasing to do. Forget, just for a moment, that Ken Bono, Jason Misolas, Rob Reyes and a 2013 second round pick were part of the trade. Bottom line, it took more than just 1 + 1 = 2 arithmetic to get it done. And someone wanted to go through whatever complexities and impending media backlash three-team trades present just to bring Taulava on board. Meralco wants Taulava. Gilas wants Taulava. I’m happy for Asi that he’s still significant. Not all players last this long in the PBA or play as many games with the national team. When they do, they must be doing something right. Or maybe it’s not what they do but what they are. Taulava is 6’9" with tons of basketball experience and a whole lot of mass. Rajko Toroman knows Taulava is a rare breed. Otherwise, Gilas can just tap Marlou Aquino, Sam Eman or Yancy de Ocampo and send (as Jason Webb kindly puts it) Daddy Douthit home but thank him for wanting to help out. PBA teams need 6’9" centers to patrol the paint or Rafi Reavis-types who have wingspans that can cover the shaded lane. The need is more pronounced in the international game. Who else can trade forearms with Hamed Haddadi, Yi Jianlian or Paulius Jankunas? Greg Slaughter is too raw. Rabeh Al-Hussaini pouts too much. Taulava is 37. But until our country produces talented big men at the same rate as talented guards, we’ll need to live with certain realities. For as long as the Slaughters, Al-Hussainis and Taulavas remain peerless, no matter how inexperienced, cantankerous or battle-scarred they are, they will be in demand. Ever noticed that after national teams are formed, we always debate over why some guards are left out of the team? Yet we hardly question why Asi is there. He’s still there. And Philippine basketball is still where it is: we breed scoring guards by the dozen with not enough Taulavas to go around. --GMANews.TV