MANILA, Philippines - N-Lex center Asi Taulava is the PBA’s senior statesman but even as he’s the oldest player in the league at 41, no one dares to tell him he’s in the twilight of his career because it’s just not true.
From the way Taulava played last season, he could go on forever. Ageless Asi averaged 14.8 points, 12.4 rebounds and 37.7 minutes in 40 games for Air21, earning Comeback Player of the Year honors from the PBA Press Corps. Taulava had taken a leave of absence from the PBA to lead San Miguel Beer to the ABL title and win the MVP trophy the previous year.
When the Air21 franchise was bought by N-Lex last summer, nine players were held over to play for the Road Warriors. Taulava was at the head of the pack. Other holdovers were MacMac Cardona, Eloy Poligrates, Jonas Villanueva, Eric Camson, Enrico Villanueva, Mark Borboran, Aldrech Ramos and Wynne Arboleda. Joining the team from Talk ‘N’ Text was Nino Canaleta. Also in the fold are four rookies Harold Arboleda, Jong Baloria, Jeckster Apinan and Byron Villarias. In the injured/reserve list is Pamboy Raymundo. Borgie Hermida and rookie Raul Soyud almost made the cut.
N-Lex assistant team manager Allan Gregorio, whose responsibilities include marketing and coaching as a consultant, said it wasn’t difficult to negotiate a new deal with Taulava. “In a word, Asi is a revelation,” said Gregorio. “He initially asked for a three-year contract but settled for two years with a clause that if he continues to play like he did last season, his contract will be renewed six months before it expires. I think it’s a win-win contract. His salary is at max and I think if he maintains his present condition, there’s no doubt he’ll be renewed.”
Gregorio said he expects Taulava to space out his minutes. “To maximize Asi, it’s possible he’ll play about seven minutes a quarter or 25 to 28 a game,” he said. “We’ll get the others to play the balance of his minutes. Maybe, Enrico will get minutes at center. He’s worked very hard in the offseason. We thought he’d be only 50 to 60 percent but he’s probably now at 80 to 85 percent. Enrico continues to do therapy and undergo rehab. He’s still a work-in-progress. Over a month back, his timing was off, he couldn’t elevate to dunk and he was slow. But in a practice game against Purefoods, he surprised everyone by scoring 12 points. It was a good sign. He’s dunking again and playing confident.”
Another big man who can help off the boards is Camson. “Eric can play three or four,” said Gregorio. “He’s a bit small for a four on offense but he has a good perimeter shot. Eric can defend the four, too. Soyud’s not in our lineup at the moment but he’s a double-double player both in the UAAP and the D-League. We put Pamboy in the injured/reserve list instead of Soyud when the Perpetual rookies (Baloria and Harold Arboleda) came in.”
Gregorio said N-Lex tested Jaypee Belencion and Roider Cabrera but neither made the grade. Two rookies from the D-League were signed up – Villarias and Apinan. “Jeckster is a hard-nosed defender, a big guy who can run the floor and play the four spot,” he said. “He’s a legit 6-4 rebounder. With Asi and Wynne, we thought we should get younger players to lower our age average. Harold is a guy who can play different positions, score and pass. Baloria is like P. J. Simon, a flat-out shooter. Villarias played for N-Lex in the D-League and is also a scorer.”
Gregorio said Metro Pacific Tollways president/CEO Ramoncito Fernandez has challenged the team to finish within the top seven of every conference. “I think we’re expected to finish No. 5 or No. 6 or No. 7,” he said. “It would be a big achievement to make it to the semifinals. There’s pressure on the team to produce because N-Lex was so dominant in the D-League. I think the team is ready to compete. We recently had a team building exercise with Nonoy Noriega who is PLDT vice president for human resources. We held it at the First Pacific Learning Academy in Antipolo and it was a positive bonding experience.”
Aside from beating Purefoods in the offseason, N-Lex battled Blackwater to an 82-all standoff and a game against Rain Or Shine was called off with the Painters up, 23-22, in the first period because of a brawl that erupted from an incident involving Villanueva and Ryan Arana.
Greogrio said N-Lex coach Boyet Fernandez is perfect for the team. Fernandez is finishing up his obligations with San Beda College in the NCAA Finals before moving to N-Lex. “Boyet is a tactician with a great mind and has a good macro perspective of the game,” he said. “He pays attention to the little things that make a difference. Aside from Adonis (Tierra) as assistant coach, we’ve got Jojo (Lastimosa) and Sandy (Arespacochaga) along with Raymund (Celis), Ford (Arao), Gino (Manuel) and Jay (Serrano) in the staff. Jojo is a great teacher and works on the players’ skills. Jojo’s still able to keep up with the kids, teaches by example and makes everyone work as hard as he does.”
Gregorio said balance is evident in the team’s composition. “Eloy plays two-guard but is also an emergency one,” he said. “Jonas and Wynne are our point guards. KG, Mark and Aldrech are our stretch forwards. MacMac will be fantastic for us. While he was with Air21 last season, MacMac went up to Ryan (Gregorio) asking if he could go back to the MVP Group. So when N-Lex bought Air21, it was like his wish was granted. What we’d like to see more from MacMac is his defense, the kind of defense he played when he was with La Salle. As for his offense, he scored 22 in our practice game against Purefoods so that’s a given.”
Gregorio said he’s excited to do his job at N-Lex. “I’ve got heavy marketing responsibilities,” he said. “I’ll do my best to assist (team manager) Mr. (Ronald) Dulatre and enhance N-Lex’ image. We’re aiming to involve the youth with our team. We want to be a fighting squad and maintain our championship tradition that was started in the D-League. With Asi’s leadership, we think N-Lex will be competitive this season.”