IT is totally understable when you hear Asi Taulava say that the memory of the 2002 Asian Games in Busan, South Korea will stay with him forever.
“Moments like that are hard to forget,” Taulava said. “I take that with me to my grave.”
That, of course, was one of the most heartbreaking defeats the Philippines has ever suffered in international play- and Taulava, unfortunately, was part of it.
With the Philippines up two, Olsen Racela was unable to hit two free throws that would have sealed a semifinal win before a hostile home crowd. Instead, Korea celebrated seconds later when Lee Sang Min hit a buzzer-beating three to send the hosts to the gold-medal match against China.
“It was so painful,” Taulava recalled like it was yesterday. “Guys were in the locker room, we couldn’t believe we lost. It was a shocker just watching the three go in.”
The Philippines’ campaign looked promising at the start. After going 2-0 in the eliminations with wins over North Korea and United Arab Emirates, the Philippines came up with a 79-74 win over Japan with Jeffrey Cariaso sealing the victory with a crucial lay-up in the endgame. The Nationals then beat Chinese Taipei, 83-69, before bowing to China, 92-51, to set the stage for a semifinal clash against Korea.
Then Lee Sang Min happened.
After Racela missed those two free throws, Korea’s final possession went awry and a broken play ended up with Lee able to fake off two Filipino defenders, and gather himself for a game-clinching trey.
Game over.
The defeat relegated the Philippines to a bronze-medal match against Kazakhstan the following day. But Taulava said the Korea defeat was so deflating they completely lost focus, not knowing they still have a game to play.
“It was so painful that we forgot that we had another game, a bronze medal game the next day. We went back to the [Athletes’] Village still down, still thinking about the loss. None of us had experience in international competition, that if we lose, next night, you have a game so you have to forget about it as fast as possible.”
“That was the biggest mistake we ever made,” Taulava said. “Looking back, at least we could have brought home a bronze medal in the Asian Games. Instead of feeling sorry about it, we should have let it go and executed because we could have beaten Kazakhstan hands down. But the loss still affected us. That was not good.”
Korea went on to beat a Yao Ming-led China in overtime for the gold. Taulava believed the Philippines had a good chance at beating China that year since that team was basically built - by the late Ron Jacobs and later by understudy Jong Uichico - to beat the latter.
In hindsight, that mindset proved to be costly, according to Taulava.
“We had a good chance. We played China in the eliminations. We were bracketed with the same group. It was pretty much a scouting game. We didn’t run anything. We just want to see how they played. We were so focused on wanting to play China in the championship that we forgot about Korea. It came back and beat us in the butt.”
Looking back though, Taulava said painful moments of his career, including that loss to Korea, were also the reasons why he achieved success in a PBA career spanning 21 years. This year, at age 45, he is playing in his third Asian Games campaign.
“Those trial moments made me who the person I am today. You either quit or you come back fighting. I’m given another opportunity. Third time is a charm,” said Taulava.
Taulava also saw that the loss to Korea changed the way the Philippines prepares for international competition, knowing that any team can beat any team in that environment.
“Now, the national teams now, every game is taken seriously. It’s amazing,” said Taulava.
Taulava said he wants to face Korea one more time to get a redemption of sorts. But he also doesn’t want to fall into the trap of zeroing in on just one opponent.
“Hopefully, we crossed paths with Korea. But we are not looking that far ahead. We just want to focus on Kazakhstan first, then China. We need to win one game so that we can advance and then, just let everything fall into place,” said Taulava.
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