INQUIRER Sports

TIANJIN, China ? Getting his vintage legs to run a little faster and jump a little higher Friday night, veteran Asi Taulava helped carry Powerade-Pilipinas to its biggest Fiba Asia win ever since the pros started carrying the country?s colors.

And it put to rest ? at least for now ? talk that he is the Philippines? primary big man of the past, most especially with the future sitting helplessly on the bench.

Taulava scored all but two of his 11 points in the final period and had eight boards in a 78-69 victory by Powerade-Pilipinas over Japan which boosted its chances to reach the quarterfinal round of the Fiba Asia qualifying for next year?s world championship.

?That was my twin brother out there,? Taulava jokingly told Filipino scribes after the late-night game at the Tianjin gym here, where the Philippines got an added boost from the Chinese crowd who stayed behind and rooted for the Filipinos.

The 36-year-old Taulava used most of the 17 minutes he was on the floor running the length of it, contesting practically every loose ball and defending like crazy to fire up the Philippine crew which trailed by as many as 11 points in the first period.

The Filipinos also drew clutch plays from Cyrus Baguio while hitting their three-point shots when they needed them most, including three triples from James Yap, who rejoined the team only last Thursday.

With two straight wins, the Filipinos dispute the Group A top spot against Korea in a game going on as of posting time. If they lose, they can still make it to the Final 8 by beating at least one of the Group B qualifiers in the second round starting Monday.

?I cannot take credit for the win,? said coach Yeng Guiao, who, despite blowing a 19-point lead against Japan in the Jones Cup in Taipei, practically guaranteed a win in this tournament with his ?we can handle Japan? statement.

?They willed themselves to win this game,? he added. ?We didn?t expect to beat them [Japanese] that way [by a big margin]. This is a stepping stone for us towards playing better against Korea.?

Taulava, the RP squad?s top center since the Asian Games in 2006, has been relegated as backup since the arrival of the younger Japeth Aguilar from Western Kentucky University in the United States.

Aguilar sat out the game because of a strained knee but he was expected back against the Koreans, who clobbered the Japanese last Thursday.

Undersized center Sonny Thoss also took the cudgels for Aguilar, tossing in a team-high 15 points to go with eight rebounds, and Willie Miller threw his weight around for 10 markers and four assists.

The Japanese raced to a 16-5 lead with a lineup that had three centers in the Takeuchi twins, Joji and Kosuke, and 6-foot-10 Shunsuke Ito.

But the Filipinos methodically came back, getting key hits from an ailing Mick Pennisi with three three-pointers and Cyrus Baguio, who wowed the crowd with several highlight reel plays, including a layup which gave the Philippines a 52-51 lead late in the third.

If they win against Korea, the Filipinos will take a Group A-best 2-0 record into the next phase since their 84-point win over eliminated Sri Lanka will not count. In that case, Korea will have a 1-1 record and Japan a 0-2 slate.

They will then play the qualifiers from Group B, which will have Iran with a 2-0 card, and Chinese Taipei and Kuwait with 1-1 slates.

Iran topped Group B with a 94-46 decision of Kuwait, while other Saturday games saw the Taiwanese improve to 2-1 with a 102-78 ripping of Uzbekistan even as Jordan swept its group with a 79-67 triumph over the United Arab Emirates.

The Philippines should win over lowly Kuwait to remain in contention even if it bows to Korea. Only the top four teams after inter-group play will proceed to the KO Final Eight.

The scores:

POWERADE-PILIPINAS 78?Thoss 15, Taulava 11, Miller 10, Yap 9, Pennisi 9, Baguio 8, Helterbrand 5, Raymundo 3, Santos 3, Norwood 3, Dillinger 2.

JAPAN 69?Yamada 16, K. Takeuchi 14, Igarashi 13, Kashiwagi 12, J. Takeuchi 8, Ito 4, Amino 2, Okada 0.

Quarters: 17-22, 35-41, 56-53, 78-69.