Cardona, Asi eye title shot vs former team

MANILA, Philippines – Mac Cardona looks up to Asi Taulava as his big brother and vice versa.

During one sequence in the fourth quarter of Game Four of the PBA Commissioner's Cup semifinals between Ari21 and San Mig Coffee, Cardona appeared to have gone for a flying kick against Mark Barroca, who was able to elude his defense. Cardona’s antics rattled Barroca, who bricked the shot.  

“Hindi ko na maabot si Mark eh basta mailang ko lang siya. Hindi ko naman intension na saktan siya. Ang sa akin lang ilangin siya sa tira niya, ginagawa ko nga yun sa practice namin eh,” said a comical Cardona after the game.

Taulava, the big brother that he is, called Cardona’s attention right after the play that drew mixed reactions from the crowd.

“Be careful, be smart. We don’t need you to get ejected,” Taulava told Cardona.

“We’re already one man short [with Sean Anthony out]. Anything that will distract the team is the least of our concern right now. I want everybody to stay focus,” Taulava told Philstar.com.   

Their partnership goes back all the way to Talk n Text in the mid-2000s when Cardona was one of the league’s rising stars while Taulava was only few years removed from his MVP season.

In the three seasons that they were together at Talk n Text, they lost in the Finals thrice.  

Taulava went on to move to the now defunct Coca-Cola Tigers during the 2007 season but Cardona stayed and led Talk n Text to the 2008-09 Philippine Cup title, his last Finals appearance.

Six years later, they found themselves teammates again. With their careers enjoying a renaissance at Air21, Cardona and Taulava are longing to finally win a championship together.

“Yun ang maganda sa buhay, hindi inaakala ng tao na makakapunta kami dito pero nakarating kami. Ang sarap ng pakiramdam. Ang tagal ko ng hindi nag-finals. Last pa yung 2009 with Talk n Text,” Cardona said.   

Now 32, Cardona is still as animated as before but nine seasons in the league have helped him grew up. 

“Ngayon, may chance ako na makabalik. Pagtiyagaan na lang namin, andito na kami eh. Sacrifice lang. Ako, whatever it takes, sabi ko kay coach. Walang bad apple sa team. Walang nagrereklamo kahit konti or malaki ang playing time. Alam ng bawat isa ang role niya sa team,” said Cardona, who is Air21’s sixth man this conference.   

Armed with an unorthodox hook shot that earned him the moniker Captain Hook, Cardona remains to be one of the better scorers in the league. He is a five-time All Star, won a Best Player of the Conference and a Finals MVP award and led the league in scoring during his younger years.  But his game took a dip when he was traded by Talk n Text in 2010.

“Yung peak ko nasa Talk n Text nun then nung nalipat ako sa Meralco nagtatatalo kami dun. Yung confidence ko bumaba. Natural naman yun sa player but it’s up to you kung magpapadala ka sa sasabihin nilang laos ka na, wala ka ng ibubuga,” Cardona said.

With a shot at returning to the finals and possibly going back on top on the horizon, Cardona is extra motivated.

“Prove yourself lang every game. Like Asi, he’s 41 years old but he’s playing like mas bata pa sa 20,” said Cardona who is inspired by his big brother’s remarkable performance despite his age.

On Wednesday night, Cardona and Taulava will try to lead Air21, a team nobody expected to reach this far, to an improbable finals appearance with their former team Talk n Text waiting in the wings.

“Kapag game on the line, mas lumalabas yung natural na laro namin,” Cardona said.