Pauliasi M. Taulava also known as Asi Taulava (born March 2, 1973 in Inglewood, California) is a American-born Filipino-Tongan professional basketball player playing in the Philippines for the Meralco Bolts in the Philippine Basketball Association.

Standing 6 ft 9 in (2.13 m) tall and weighing 245 pounds (111 kg), he is considered by many to one of the greatest and most dominant Filipino basketball player to ever play the center position in the PBA. Throughout his 11-year career, Taulava has used his size and strength to overpower opponents for points and rebounds. He is also a many-time member of the Philippines national basketball team in international competitions.

Taulava's individual accolades include the 2003 MVP award and two All-Star Game MVP awards.

However, Taulava is also one of the most controversial figures in Philippine basketball due to his numerous issues about his citizenship since he arrived in the local basketball scene in 1997.

He is also known for his dyed hair, although he has also shaved his head bald numerous times in the past.

Yao Ming (born September 12, 1980) is a retired Chinese professional basketball player who last played for the Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). At the time of his final season, he was the tallest active player in the NBA, at 2.29 m (7 ft 6 in).

Yao, who was born in Shanghai, started playing for the Shanghai Sharks as a teenager, and played on their senior team for five years in the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA), winning a championship in his final year. After negotiating with the CBA and the Sharks to secure his release, Yao was selected by the Houston Rockets as the first overall pick in the 2002 NBA Draft. Yao was selected to start for the Western Conference in the NBA All-Star Game eight times, and was named to the All-NBA Team five times. He reached the NBA Playoffs four times, and the Rockets won a first-round series in the 2009 postseason, their first playoff series victory since 1997. However, Yao missed 250 regular-season games due to foot and ankle injuries in his final six seasons.