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Behind
every dark cloud there’s a silver lining. In the case of
the 2-8 Coca Cola Tigers, that cloud has a blonde
streak.
In his
first game in a Tigers jersey, Paul Asi Taulava, all
six-foot-nine of him was expected by his banged up and
shell shocked teammates to be Jordanesque, nay, the
Taulava of yore and to rescue them from the dregs of PBA
mediocrity. He did score 33 points and haul down 17
boards, but it wasn’t near enough to give Coca-Cola a
win against the Alaska Aces. He rebounded from that with
another monster game against Sta. Lucia in Lucena where
he towed the Tigers to their second win.
The
Taulava of yore. It is theorized that Talk ’N Text team
management thought the man-mountain had lost his fire
that’s why they needed a shake-up. They’ve dangled Don
Allado and Yancy de Ocampo previously, but if any player
was worth Ali Peek and a first-round draft pick it was
the Big Fella.
As the
11th acquisition of Coca-Cola since April of this year,
Taulava joins a team with already a huge chip on its
shoulder.
Forced
to let go of its core that gave them championships, the
team was in a rebuilding phase in more ways than one.
Since the team was practically decimated, there was
structure where the newcomers could plug the
holes—everyone had to compete for playing time, further
souring chemistry. And the double whammy was the
insecurity of having changed team ownership. The team
already felt like a fourth-class citizen in the San
Miguel hierarchy and now, it felt like an island
surrounded by a sea of question marks.
To
compound matters, the team was downed by a plague of
injuries. And they’ve never fielded an intact lineup for
some time.
“When I
joined the PBA, I came into a similar situation with
Talk ’N Text where they were in the cellar,” said an
optimistic Taulava in his first official practice with
the Tigers. “I was surprised by the trade, but I got
over it very quick. It’s the nature of the business. I
guess they wanted to go in another direction and thought
that maybe Ali [Peek] was the guy they needed to get
there. It’s nothing personal, but it is not bad. We have
an opportunity to turn things around.”
When the
trade was consummated, Tigers coach Binky Favis gave
Taulava a call and asked one question, “Did I do the
right thing?”
“C’mon,
coach,” laughed the former league MVP. “It’s me.”
That was
all Favis needed to hear. They now had a player that
other teams cannot take lightly. The normally worked up
Tim Cone had his team make sure there wasn’t any
complacency now that Asi was playing for the Tigers.
Alex
Cabagnot missed six games with a sprained ankle but was
activated for the Alaska match. “Not playing was killing
me,” said the former first-round draft pick of Sta.
Lucia “But with Asi around, I wanted to see if we could
get a win. We didn’t but we’ll get better.”
“We have
nine games to go and if we’re able to get our acts
together, we should still be in the hunt for a playoff
berth,” added Favis.
Taulava’s presence has clearly boosted the team’s
morale. Barely in the team for a couple of days, the big
man, lean and rejuvenated, is taking charge and bouncing
all over the court egging on his teammates. Said one
league coach, “Asi isn’t like the other Fil-Ams who
don’t know how to relate with the locals. He’s a great
teammate.” In fact, on the night of his trade to
Coca-Cola, many of his current teammates went to his pad
to visit him.
“Everyone here’s a joker,” fessed up Cabagnot. “But
Asi’s the biggest one of them all.”
The
kidding aside, every one here is playing for their
basketball lives. “I’d be lying to you if I said the
losing isn’t getting to us,” said Favis. “But now with
Asi here and John [Arigo], Egay [Echavez], and Cesar [Catli]
rejoining us soon we’ll have a better fighting chance.”
****
The
Tigers, a curious blend of the youth and experience from
the players down to the coaching staff, would dearly
love to win a title and prove their detractors wrong.
More so
with the team’s brain trust. Binky Favis, Richie Ticzon
and Boybits Victoria were all stars of their respective
teams (UST, Ateneo, and San Beda) who all played against
each other during their amateur days. Ironically, all
three never won a title in the collegiate and PBL level.
It was only in the pros that they got an opportunity to
experience a title campaign. “Maybe that’s something
that drives us,” says Victoria who to this day still
carries the scars of an NCAA finals loss. “But it’s not
all just about games. As coaches, we have a
responsibility to our players. We also help them get
through life.”
“In many
ways, this is even harder than your average 9-to-5 job,”
extrapolates Favis. “We’re always thinking of the game
and the team 24/7. We watch endless tapes of our games
as well as ’yung sa kalaban. We scout, we train,
we teach, we plan … it can get tense. We’re in this
because we love the game.” |
