FATHER TIME WHO?
Bombarded by the three explosive guards of GlobalPort in the first three quarters of their season debut, NLEX relied on an old stalwart to carry the Road Warriors to their first PBA win.
Asi Taulava continues to defy Father Time, taking over in the payoff period, scoring 12 points to finish with 21 points behind 13-of-17 shooting from the free throw line to tow NLEX to a 101-96 win over the Batang Pier.
The oldest player in the league at 41, Taulava also had eight rebounds and five assists in the victory.
“We just believed with one another,” Taulava said. “This group, that was the old Air21 group last conference. We knew we can execute.”
NLEX scored the come-from-behind win by using its size and familiarity advantage against the young Batang Pier squad.
“With GlobalPort, we’re against a jump-shooting team and we’re big guys so we know we have the advantage. We were fortunate that their shots weren’t falling and we stuck with our half-court sets,” Taulava said.
It also helps that Taulava is sharing minutes with another reliable big man in Enrico Villanueva, who is coming off of an ACL injury but was a steady contributor in the game.
“Rico’s playing well. He comes in and we can play two bigs. That’s the advantage that we have in this team,” Asi said.
But more than anything, Taulava’s focus is just on the long-term, saying, “We just want to win games and put ourselves in a good position so everybody has the confidence once we make the playoffs. It’s a whole process right now.” (RL)
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