Asi Taulava
Asi Taulava was born in Nuku'alofa, Tonga on March 2nd, 1973 and is the Basketball Player. At the age of 51, Asi Taulava biography, profession, age, height, weight, eye color, hair color, build, measurements, education, career, dating/affair, family, news updates, and networth are available.
At 51 years old, Asi Taulava has this physical status:
Pauliasi Taulava (born March 2, 1973), also known as Asi Taulava, is a Tongan-born Filipino professional basketball player for the NLEX Road Warriors of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA).
He is the oldest active player in the league and is currently in his 18th season. Standing 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) tall and weighing 245 pounds (111 kg), Taulava is considered by many to be one of the greatest and most dominant Filipino basketball players to ever play the center position in the PBA.
Throughout his 21-year career, Taulava has used his size and strength to overpower opponents for points and rebounds.
He is also a many-time member of the Philippine national team in international competitions. Following his career in the PBL, Taulava entered the PBA in 1999, when he was directly hired by the Mobiline Phone Pals.
With his performance, he quickly emerged as one of the top centers in the league, even winning the 2003 MVP award.
After eight years with Talk N' Text, he was traded to the Coca-Cola Tigers where he played until 2010.
He was later traded to the Meralco Bolts, leading the team for two seasons with his presence and style.
In 2012, Taulava decided to leave the PBA to play for the San Miguel Beermen in the ABL.
After a brief stint in the league, he returned to the PBA in 2013, where he signed for the Air21 Express. Taulava's individual accolades include the 2003 MVP award, two All-Star Game MVP awards and the 2013 ABL MVP award. However, Taulava is also one of the most controversial figures in Philippine basketball due to his numerous issues about his citizenship since he arrived in the local basketball scene in 1997. He is also known for his dyed hair, although he has also shaved his head bald numerous times in the past.
His moniker is The Rock. Taulava is also a brand ambassador of the sports clothing brand Under Armour Philippines.
PBA career
He was hired directly by Mobiline Phone Pals to improve their frontline. He was only able to lead the team to a single finals stint from 1999 to 2002, finishing as runners-up.
Taulava had a fruitful year in 2003, when he led the Phone Pals to the All-Filipino Championship while being named the Best Player of the Conference. He became the first Fil-foreign cager since Great Taste's Ricardo Brown in 1985 to win the Most Valuable Player Award at the end of the season.
They came in third place in 2004. Taulava and colleague Jimmy Alapag were named as co-MVP of the All-Star Game in Cebu City by Taulava and Jim Alapag.
Taulava and five other Fil-foreign cagers have irregular records as a result of the 2004–05 PBA season. Noli Eala, the PBA's chief, has permanently suspended him and some of the other participants. However, even without Taulava, the Phone Pals were still able to post a respectable elimination round record of 12–6. Later in the tournament, a flurry of incidents emerged during the course of the Philippine Cup Finals, as the Phone Pals lost in five games. He led them to the finals once more in the Fiesta Conference, but they lost to the San Miguel Beermen in game five, but not by any means.
Taulava played for Team Pilipinas and the Brunei Cup tournaments in 2005.
Taulava was named MVP of the All-Star Game in Cagayan de Oro City in 2006, leading the South All-Stars to a 122–120 victory over the North All-Stars during the 2005-06 PBA season.
During the Philippine Cup in 2006-2007, the Phone Pals reached the semi-finals but lost in six games to the Barangay Ginebra Kings. Despite his absence, the team reached the finals on the following conference. However, they were unable to lift the crown against the Alaska Aces, who were also not able to obtain the throne.
He was traded to the Coca-Cola Tigers in exchange for Ali Peek and the Tigers 2008 first round pick, Jared Dillinger, on December 5, 2007. Asi's numbers and style of play were then revived with the new team, bringing the Tigers from wildcard to quarterfinals, but they eventually lost 2–0 to Alaska.
Taulava's averaged 13.5 points, 1.9 assists, 12.5 rebounds, 0.4 steals, and 0.6 blocks per game in the 2007–2008 season.
Taulava's 58th member of the PBA's 5,000-point club, out-of-town game in Panabo City, Davao del Norte, lasted seven points, including a short stab at 11:11 left in the third quarter, making him the 58th member of the PBA's 5,000-point team.
Taulava played in the 2010 PBA All-Star Weekend for his 12th appearance in the Puerto Princesa Coliseum in Palawan. Kelly Williams, Eric Menk, Cyrus Baguio, and James Yap were among the 2003 MVP recipients who competed for the South team's First 5 along with Kelly Williams, Eric Menk, Cyrus Baguio, and James Yap. They eventually lost the game against the North All-Stars 133–130.
As part of a three-team contract with the Barako Bull Energy Boosters, he was transferred to Meralco Bolts in exchange for Jason Misolas and Khasim Mirza on September 22, 2010. When asked about the center's transfer to the new team, coach Ryan Gregorio said, "Asi (Taulava) is a welcome addition for us." We definitely need more since it is only Marlou (Aquino) who is our legitimate center. "His arrival certainly deepens our rotation up front." I'm so happy that we've got him (Taulava). With him on the team, our team is able to be more effective. As I've said before, we'll get to the point where we can fast-track events. This is a big change for us." Taulava became Meralco's only center after Marlou Aquino's departure to the Barako Bull Energy Boosters.
Taulava made his 2010–11 season debut against the Barangay Ginebra Kings on October 3, 2010, rather than his more common number 88. In his first game with Meralco, the Filipino-Tongan player scored 7 points and 8 rebounds. He had a double-double in 12 days after scoring 15 points and grabbing 14 rebounds in an 84–92 loss against his former team Talk N' Text.
Meralco kicked off the 2011 PBA Commissioner's Cup with a game against the Barangay Ginebra Kings on February 18, 2011. Taulava scored 23 points and ten rebounds in his first game of the year, but the Bolts lost 115-98 to Ginebra.
He opted for the number 5 because it was also the number he wore in his previous stints at international competitions.
Taulava did not give up full playing time or average career lows in virtually every major statistical category in the 2010–11 season, but it was still one of Meralco's offensive highlights. He also increased his numbers in the following season.
After two seasons as Bolts' leader, he opted to leave the team and declined a two-year contract extension worth maximum compensation. Taulava decided to play for the San Miguel Beermen rather than in the ABL. He received the ABL Most Valuable Player award in 2013.
Taulava began playing for the Air21 Express in the 2013 PBA Governors' Cup, making him the oldest active PBA player at 40 years old. He made his debut against his old team, Talk N' Text, on September 13, where he scored 7 points and led his team to a 106-102 victory.
Taulava had only 3 games in 2013 after Air21 was unable to qualify for the Governor's Cup playoffs.
Taulava saw more action in the league in his second season with Air21. Express was disqualified in the first round of the 2013–14 Philippine Cup with a dismal 3–11 record. Taulava coached Air21 to the quarterfinals of the 2014 Commissioner's Cup, where they met the San Miguel Beermen. Air21 made their first semifinal appearance in franchise history after defeating the second-seeded Beermen with the knockout game ending in two overtimes. However, they were defeated by the eventual champions San Mig Super Coffee Mixers in their semifinals tournament that continued to Game 5. The 2003 MVP helped his team progress to the quarterfinals of the 2014 Governors' Cup, where they were ostensibly barred by Rain or Shine. Taulava's 41-year-old Taulava was averaging his most minutes (37.37) in five years and assumed a larger role than in previous years. As a result, his numbers and style of play were also revived by his time in Air21, where he averaged 14.7 points, 12.3 rebounds, and 2.0 assists. He was also nominated for the MVP award during the season, which was eventually won by June Mar Fajardo. Taulava received the Comeback Player of the Year award at the end of the season.
The Air21 Express was acquired by expansion team NLEX Road Warriors before the 2014-15 season, bothered by financial constraints. In August 2014, the 2003 MVP was also signed to a two-year max salary contract worth P10 million.
Taulava was named to the PBA Mythical Second Team on October 14, 2016 at the PBA Leo Awards Night.
PBA career statistics
As of the end of 2021 season
National team career
In 2002, Taulava participated for Team Philippines in the 2002 Asian Games in Busan, Korea. Taulava demonstrated promise during the said tournament as Center but had a difficult time guarding Yao Ming's Chinese center. After losing the bronze medal against Kazakhstan and suffering a humiliating loss in the semifinals against host Korea, the Philippines went home without a medal.
Taulava was included in Chot Reyes' Team Pilipinas Training Pool in 2005. He was one of the nation's third-place finish in the William Jones Cup tournament, behind Passing Lane Sports of the United States and host, Chinese Taipei. Team Pilipinas was also selected for the 5th Brunei Sultan Cup championship by Taulava.
Taulava defeated the Dennis Rodman-led American team 110–102 on May 1 in 2006.
In 2007, Taulava was again a national team member of the 2007 FIBA Asia Championship in Japan. Despite Taulava's stellar results as Center, the team was unable to advance to the preliminary round, which was dubbed the "group of death" after losing only one game against China and losing to eventual champion Iran and Jordan.
He was also listed under the RP Training Pool under Coach Yeng Guiao in 2008.
During the Stankovic Cup Asia Tournament in 2010, he competed for the Smart Gilas, helping the team to finish fourth in fourth place.
Taulava, along with Kelly Williams, was granted the opportunity to compete for Smart Gilas in the 2010 Asian Games. The team earned their sixth position in the tournament after placing sixth. Taulava announced that he will be able to represent the country at the 2011 FIBA Asia Championship in Wuhan, China, in January 2011. "I'll make all the sacrifice for Team Pilipinas and our world," the 2003 MVP said. Let's all unite for flag and country, and make 2011 a year for Philippine basketball. Taulava participated in the 2011 William Jones Cup in August 2011; in the preliminary round of the tournament, the Philippine team set a promising 5–2 record before being eliminated in the semifinals by Iran. Taulava was involved in an altercation with Yoong Jing Kwaan on August 9, 2011, while playing against Malaysia. The incident occurred in the third quarter of the match; with less than 20 seconds remaining, Taulava immediately went down on the ground in pain after Yoong Jing Kwaan grabbed and squeezed his private parts. The Fil-Tongan screamed, pursued the Malaysian player, striking him twice in the head, causing him to tremble. With 7.4 seconds remaining in the time, the two were eventually dismissed. Smart Gilas eventually defeated the 86-68. Taulava will later be apologizing for his conduct.
After a 2011 FIBA Asia Championship stint, Taulava dropped out of international competitions. Taulava has been a member of the Philippines national basketball team since 2002.
In 2015, he returned to international competitions. He competed for the national team at the 2015 FIBA Asia Championship in which the Philippines took home the gold.
He was a member of the Philippines men's basketball team for the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta and Palembang, Indonesia. Jordan Clarkson, a Fil-Am NBA player, came fifth overall and finished fifth overall.