VETERAN Asi Taulava vowed to get even against rookie Greg Slaughter in the match-up between the PBA’s two big men after Air21 dropped a 76-84 loss to Barangay Ginebra in their Governors Cup game Tuesday night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The 41-year-old Taulava admitted losing his personal duel against Slaughter as the Ginebra big man outscored him, 12-9.
“Tonight, Greg got the best of me, but there’s always a next game,” said Taulava, who has been one of the reason for the rise of the Express this season.
“What I learned tonight and what helped me, later on when I play the other guys is if I don’t learn from it, it’s a bad loss. But now, I’ll learn how to play against taller guys,” said Taulava, who was league MVP in 2003.
Slaughter was held down to just three points in the first half, but scored six points in the endgame, including a two-handed slam that fired up the Kings in the final period.
Taulava likewise said he and the Express need to spend more time shooting free throws after the Express struggled from the foul line against the Kings.
The 6-foot-9 center struggled to shoot just 3-of-11 from the field, although he went just 3-of-9 from the free throw line in the final period, enabling Ginebra to escape with the come-from-behind win.
“We’re gonna shoot a lot of free throws (Wednesday). Wednesday might be dedicated to shooting free throws and the day after,” said Taulava, who was 3-of-11 from the foul line.
A 64 percent free throw shooter, Taulava calls the Express’ foul throw shooting woes as a `chink in their armor’, which they will try to improve on as they prepare for Friday’s game against Alaska.
“We’ll be ready for that (free throw shooting). We saw that’s the chink in our armor. But we’ll be ready for that the next game,” he added.
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