PBA: History repeats itself for Sean Anthony, Asi Taulava

By Jonas Terrado

The bitter taste of defeat was still the same as it was 20 years ago but Asi Taulava reacted differently this time as NLEX joined a list of No. 1 seeds that were forced to take an early vacation by the No. 8 team.

There were no tears from Taulava as he congratulated the victorious NorthPort Batang Pier who overcame the odds and three overtime periods to come away with a 126-123 win and a berth in the PBA Governors’ Cup semifinals.

Taulava even granted two fans with a selfie before heading to the locker room to reflect on the defeat that mirrored Mobiline’s collapse against Barangay Ginebra in the 1999 All-Filipino Cup.

But toughened by the heartbreak of seeing Bal David score a one-handed runner at the buzzer in that May 1999 game at the Philsports Arena, Taulava hopes his younger NLEX teammates can take this painful lesson in stride.

“I still got the positives with all our young guys. It becomes a learning lesson,” Taulava said. “I’ve been through it. These tough times, you know, it happens. It’s how you bounce back.”

Taulava would have get a share of credit had NLEX prevented a repeat of 1999, providing six points and nine rebounds in 20 minutes filling in for the absence of suspended center Poy Erram.

But alas, it wasn’t enough and the Road Warriors watched the Batang Pier and Sean Anthony celebrated like it was Dec. 18, 2011 when the Powerade Tigers stunned the B-Meg Llamados by overcoming a twice-to-beat advantage.

Anthony had 13 points in that 131-123 overtime win but his output was obviously a mere footnote as Gary David looked at his hot hands as he made triple after triple.

This time, Anthony played perhaps the game of his life, making plays on both ends of the floor on his way to 30 points and 11 rebounds in a 47-minute performance that earned him plaudits from everyone.

Anthony struggled to walk as he made a rare appearance at the press room. It was the most tiring game he ever had.

“This is definitely the most tired I’ve ever been,” Anthony said. “But there’s no tomorrow right? Do-or-die.”

While the experiences with Powerade and NorthPort were different, Anthony pointed out some similarities.

“One thing with Powerade was we played together and everyone bought into their role,” recalled Anthony. “We had the Big Three with Gary, Marcio (Lassiter) and Jvee (Casio). We have another great, strong squad now and guys just playing their roles too.”

While he still couldn’t say at this point which of the two were better, Anthony can only hope that he can finish what the Tigers failed to do more than eight years ago.

“I hope we can do what we couldn’t with Powerade and go all the way,” he said.

Interestingly, Anthony and Taulava were on the same side five years ago when Air21 overcame a twice-to-beat advantage as the seventh seed to beat No. 2 San Miguel in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup quarterfinals.

Unfortunately, one had to savor the thrill of victory while other deal with the agony of defeat Wednesday as history repeated itself.

Source: Manila Bulletin