Asi Taulava

Pauliasi Taulava (born March 2, 1973) is a Tongan-born Filipino former professional basketball player in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA).

Standing 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) tall and weighing 245 pounds (111 kg), Taulava is considered by many to be one of the greatest and most dominant Filipino basketball players to ever play the center position in the PBA.

Throughout his 24-year career in the league, Taulava has used his size and strength to overpower opponents for points and rebounds.

He is also a many-time member of the Philippine national team in international competitions.

At season's end, he became the first Fil-foreign cager since Great Taste's Ricardo Brown in 1985 to win the Most Valuable Player Award.

However, Taulava is also one of the most controversial figures in Philippine basketball due to his numerous issues about his citizenship since he arrived in the local basketball scene in 1997.

He is also known for his dyed hair, although he has also shaved his head bald numerous times in the past.

His moniker is "The Rock".

Taulava is also a brand ambassador of the sports clothing brand Under Armour Philippines.

In 1997 Taulava, a 6 foot 9 inch center from Tonga, along with several Filipino-foreign cagers bannered Blu Detergent in the PBL, where he showed some promise.

In 1998, Blu management included Taulava to their roster in the PBL Centennial Cup.

Asi emerged as one of the top players in the league, alongside Tanduay rival Eric Menk.

The two had a rivalry of sorts when both players matched-up in two games between Blu and Tanduay.

Taulava led the Detergent Kings and Tia Marias to the semi-finals but failed to lead his team in the finals due to severe bleeding and insomnia.

He was directly hired by the Mobiline Phone Pals to boost up their frontline.

Following his career in the PBL, Taulava entered the PBA in 1999, when he was directly hired by the Mobiline Phone Pals.

From 1999 to 2002, he was only able to lead the team to a single finals stint which happened during the 2002 Commissioner's Cup, ending as runners-up.

With his performance, he quickly emerged as one of the top centers in the league, even winning the 2003 MVP award.

Taulava's individual accolades include the 2003 MVP award, two All-Star Game MVP awards and the 2013 ABL MVP award.

2003 was a fruitful year for Taulava when he led the Phone Pals to the All-Filipino Championship while being named as the Best Player of the Conference.

In 2004, they ended in third place.

Taulava, along with teammate Jimmy Alapag, was named as the co-MVP of the All-Star Game held in Cebu City.

During the 2004–05 PBA season, the Department of Justice announced that Taulava and five other Fil-foreign cagers have irregular documents.

PBA commissioner Noli Eala indefinitely suspended him and some of the other players.

But even without Taulava, the Phone Pals were still able to have a good elimination round record of 12–6.

Later, a series of controversies rocked during the course of the Philippine Cup Finals as the Phone Pals lost in five games.

In the Fiesta Conference, he led them again to the finals but still lost to the San Miguel Beermen in game five.

During the 2005 off-season, Taulava played for Team Pilipinas in the William Jones Cup and the Brunei Cup tournaments.

During the 2005-06 PBA season, Taulava was named MVP of the All-Star Game held in Cagayan de Oro in 2006 as he led the South All-Stars to a 122–120 win over the North All-Stars.

In 2006–2007, the Phone Pals reached the semi-finals during the Philippine Cup but lost to the Barangay Ginebra Kings in six games.

On the following conference, the team reached the finals despite his absence.

However, they were still not able to get the crown against the Alaska Aces.

On December 5, 2007, In the middle of 2007–2008 Philippine Cup, he was traded to the Coca-Cola Tigers in exchange for Ali Peek and the Tigers 2008 first round pick, who turned out to be Jared Dillinger.

Asi's numbers and style of play was then rejuvenated with the new team, lifting the Tigers from wildcard to quarterfinals, but eventually losing to Alaska, 2–0.

In the 2007–2008 season, Taulava averaged 13.5 points, 1.9 assists, 12.5 rebounds, 0.4 steals and 0.6 blocks per game.

On March 29, 2008, in an out-of-town game in Panabo City, Davao del Norte, Taulava tossed in seven points, including a short stab with 11:11 left in the third quarter which made him the 58th member of the PBA's 5,000-point club.

After eight years with Talk N' Text, he was traded to the Coca-Cola Tigers where he played until 2010.

He was later traded to the Meralco Bolts, leading the team for two seasons with his presence and style.

In 2012, Taulava decided to leave the PBA to play for the San Miguel Beermen in the ABL.

After a brief stint in the league, he returned to the PBA in 2013, where he signed for the Air21 Express.