I WATCHED this kid grow. He was such an active kid. Always running, jumping, dribbling and doing anything with the basketball in their humble abode at the heart of Cebu City at Sitio Kawayan, Barangay Sambag II.
Mark Javen “Mac-mac” Tallo, now 22-years-old is son of former PBA star Mark Anthony Tallo and Dolly Basillo Tallo. He is currently making waves in the PBA D-League.
The 4th child of the brood of seven, Mac-mac has gone a long way since those childhood years when his father used to invite me to their house every Christmas and New Year’s Eve while I was still a thriving sportswriter with VoxPop Cebu.
Recently, he has been impressive in his return to Manila with explosive performances for Racal Motors Alibaba in the PBA D-League scoring 20 points against AMA Education Online and 26 points against Zarks Jawbreakers.
With this kind of performance, Mac-mac for sure will be lined-up to be one of the top picks in this year’s PBA draft.
According to match commentators, Mac-mac is only 75 percent fit as he was still coming from a long layoff and concentrating on his studies at the Southwestern University Phinma.
The Cobras had a disappointing form last season after getting eliminated for the championship race in the Cesafi, Cebu's premier collegiate basketball league. University of the Visayas Lancers won the title over University of San Carlos.
Mac-mac won two MVP awards and also two championships with the Cobras in 2013 and 2015. Before that, he was also sensational with the Cebu Institute of Technology Wildkittens, helping them win the Cesafi high school crown and the MVP in 2009 at age 15.
He was then recruited by Ateneo Blue Eagles in the UAAP but transferred to the De La Salle University. He then moved back to Cebu and suited for SWU. He still has one more season left for the Cobras but will skip the coming season to concentrate on the PBA D-League to be ready for the PBA draft late this year.
His father Mark, the founder of Cebu’s leading basketball training center, the Online Basketball Camp, only has praises for Mac-mac.
He raised all his four boys in a basketball environment. But of the four boys, only Mac-mac has excelled and only he has the determination to follow the footsteps of his father or even outpace them. The other three boys tried basketball also but were less successful.
As Mac-mac grew up in Cebu City, his father become his mentor, coach, and confidant. He is also one of the products of his father’s Online Basketball Training Camp. He helps his father run OBTC when he is in Cebu.
OBTC just had a four-day camp here at the Lapasan covered court where more than 40 young players from all over Northern Mindanao showed up.
(l.biantan@gmail.com)