Asi Taulava could not help but be amazed with the rich talent Gilas Pilipinas has right now, as he witnessed them play together on Wednesday night in a tune-up match that pitted the NLEX Road Warriors against the Nationals.
“It was fun playing against the cadets, the young guys — the future of Philippine basketball,” lauded the 44-year-old shortly after the Road Warriors’ 112-113 loss at the Meralco Gym in Pasig City. “These guys are young!
“The pace, the speed out there, it was unbelievable.”
It may just be a tune-up game, but both squads played as if the stakes were high. NLEX even led by as high as 25, but a furious second half rally by Gilas punctuated by a Christian Standhardinger game-winning lay-up that sent the Road Warriors down.
“That was a good tune-up for us,” said Taulava, who represented the country in international competitions from 2002 to 2015.
“It will help us grow as a team. And, [it’s also] a good tune-up for them as they begin their preparation going to Jones Cup.”
Taulava, who last played for Gilas in the 2015 FIBA Asia Cup in Wuhan, China, continued singing high praises of the current batch of national players.
“Seeing Kief [Ravena], Kobe [Paras], I’m happy to see them back representing the country. That’s a great thing. Ray Parks is here. Even the younger guys — [Carl] Cruz the shooter, and then they got [Mac] Belo, the next Ranidel [De Ocampo]. All the guys are coming together.
“And like Coach Chot [Reyes] said, these guys are working together, they’ve been coming to practice, so he’s giving them all a chance to play together as a team. All the hard work is gonna pay off,” shared the Filipino-Tongan.
But aside from being left in awe with the younger generation of Gilas, what also stood out for Taulava was their cohesion, which will be a huge factor as they head into the William Jones Cup and the SEA Games.
“The good thing about it is you can see the chemistry between the guys and they get along really well. That’s something good.”
