Asi goes one on one with Father Time

TAIPEI – A fixture in the national team for over a decade now, Asi Taulava is playing on borrowed time as he fills a gaping hole in the Gilas Pilipinas roster.

“It’s all about the three stars and the sun. When called to serve, I will serve with all my heart,” said Taulava, 42, on Twitter moments after absorbing another punishment from 7-foot-2 behemoth Hamed Haddadi in their 65-74 loss to Iran Thursday.

Terrence Romeo was just 10 years old when Taulava first donned the national jersey in the 2002 Asian Games in Busan, Korea.

The Fil-Tongan player has played in another Asian Games in Guangzhou in 2010 and is taking a shot at a fourth FIBA Asia appearance after earlier stints in the biennial meet in 1997 in Tokushima, 1999 in Tianjin and 2011 in Wuhan.

He’s made himself available to the national team after Junmar Fajardo begged off due to injury.

“I’m just here to help coach Tab (Baldwin) and the national team. They need another big guy to compete,” he said.

In their warm-up competition in the Jones Cup here, Taulava has been proving he can still slug it out with the younger, stronger players at Nos. 4 and 5 positions and still churn out quality minutes.

He played a little over 19 minutes against Iran Thursday night, pacing Gilas with 12 points and eight rebounds.

He still proved to be the best that Team Phl can match up with Haddadi who powered his way to game highs of 22 markers and 15 boards.

“I just came out battling with him, trying to get him out of position, have another body for coach. I tried to keep him away from the basket. I’ve got to do a better job the next time,” said Taulava.

“That’s a game we’re looking forward to compete. We committed mistakes but coach Tab will help us correct that as a team. This would make us a better team,” Taulava pointed out.

“There’s still gonna be a lot of work ahead until the FIBA Asia starts. That’s what we’re building for,” he added.