Gilas Pilipinas Basketball

Down big against the long, talented, and athletic Wellington Saints in the 2015 Jones Cup, Gilas Pilipinas coach Tab Baldwin called upon his unique mix of young blood and old hounds. The young guns—Calvin Abueva and Jayson Castro—provided an intoxicating blend of end-to-end hustle, catch-me-if-you-can speed, and coast-to-coast drives. One of the old hounds, veteran Dondon Hontiveros, caught fire from beyond the arc.

But it was the other old hound, the oldest of them all, who started the comeback. Asi Taulava, the six-foot-ten, forty-two-year-old, blond-haired mastodon dug deep and turned back the hands of time as he held his own against the tall, athletic, and much younger frontline of the Saints. “Kuya Asi,” as he is affectionately called now by members of the Gilas squad, provided a jolt of energy and a steadying calm. He then connected on timely undergoal stabs, grabbed important rebounds, kept loose balls alive, set hard screens, and just plain sacrificed his already worn-out body on both ends.

All that from a man who had every reason to say “No” to flag and country.