Jersey retirements: 88

There has been a lot of noise about basketball jersey retirements lately. Derrick Rose‘s number 1 was raised to the rafters by the Chicago Bulls. This raised the question regarding why Dennis Rodman did not receive the same treatment. Mark Aguirre’s number is also being preserved for posterity by the Dallas Mavericks, alongside Dirk Nowitzki’s and Jason Kidd’s. Locally, six-time PBA Ranidel de Ocampo had his number 34 raised by Talk ‘N Text, after Jimmy Alapag and Harvey Carey.

Fellow six-time champion Ali Peek has another take: why not retire Asi Taulava’s? The 17-time PBA All-Star’s number 88 was retired by NLEX, the last team he played for in a staggering 24-year career, in 2023. Ageless Asi played for Mobiline/TNT from 1999 to 2007. Should the Tropang 5G retire the same number or his original 55?

“I go with 88. I go with 88 any time. He wore 55, then changed it and won his first Philippine Cup championship. I’ve been thinking a lot about it. Why not talk about it?” says Peek, now a professional driver and dialysis technician in Las Vegas. “When you talk about Talk ‘N Text, the first thing that comes to mind is Asi Taulava.”

The 6’9” center entered the PBA in 1999, and started to amass an amazing resumé in the PBA: MVP, Finals MVP, All-Star Game MVP, four-time Mythical First Team, three-time All-Defensive Team, and played for the Philippine team, as well.

“Technically, though we weren’t teammates, ever, we had a strong bond, a camaraderie off the court,” Peek adds. “So I have a lot of great memories with Asi Taulava off the court.”

Peek also reveals that the dominating version of Taulava we saw in the PBA was nowhere near the raw, physical performance he had in high school.

“We were playing in AAU and other organizations like Slam ‘N Jam,” he reveals. “It was a chance for us to showcase – as young high school kids – our talents because there were a lot of college scouts. The first time I saw Asi was on the UNLV campus, where the games were being held. Again, polarizing figure. He caught my attention right away. I was 15 years old. He changed his game up (in the PBA). Very finesse. He was twice, three times as physical when we played in the States.”

Imagine that.

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