Rare cage MVP double for 40-year-old Taulava

Asi Taulava wins MVP at 40. Photo from Asean Basketball League website.

Proving he’s nowhere near the twilight of his career, San Miguel Beer’s Asi Taulava captured yesterday the Most Valuable Player award  on his debut season in the Asean Basketball League (ABL).

“I feel vindicated since others doubted my ability to compete,” said the 40-year-old Taulava. “With this award, I think I was able to prove them wrong.”

Taulava averaged 10.9 points and 7.4 rebounds with the burly 6-foot-9 cager also giving the league’s   younger and  bigger men a tough time the entire season.

“He was the go-to post player down the stretch of big games for the San Miguel Beermen all year long, and he always seemed to deliver,” ABL chief executive officer Anthony Macri said in a statement after the league announced yesterday that Taulava topped the league voting.

Taulava’s award made it a double victory for the Beermen as mentor Leo Austria also clinched the Coach of the Year award last week.

Taulava, though, wants to show there’s more game left in him a decade after bagging the PBA MVP plum in 2003.

“The most important thing is to win the championship for the Beermen,” said Taulava. “This award won’t be complete without the championship.”

Taulava and Chris Banchero, the Filipino-Italian guard who was also nominated for the MVP, hope to lead the Beermen to their first title against defending champion Indonesia Warriors in their best-of-five championship series starting tomorrow.

Other MVP nominees were Filipino imports Froilan Baguion of Sports Rev Thailand and Jai Reyes of Saigon Heat and Indonesia’s Mario Wuysang.