CEBU’S top basketball training center, the Online Basketball Camp of Mark Anthony Tallo, is sharing a different kind of philosophy in its four-day training camp here at the Lapasan covered court.
The training camp started June 7 and will end on Saturday afternoon, June 10. More than 40 young and talented cagers from as far as Bukidnon have showed up to join the clinic which is also organized with the coach of the St. Mary’s School, Rommel Dellosa.
“We emphasize step by step instruction for our young dribblers and we teach them the philosophy of playing basketball with the mastery of dribbling, defending, shooting, passing and many other skills so that the players will really learn when they finish the camp,” said the former ace point guard of the Pepsi Cola Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) team and with the Mama’s Love in the Philippine Basketball League (PBL).
Tallo said some of the participants who showed up revealed to them that they have attended several training camps in the past but he observed that they could not even use their left hands to lay up.
“If they cannot use their left hands to lay up the ball we would teach and I could guarantee them that they will have the skills after they finish the camp,” he said.
Tallo personally teaches the kids the drills and he always starts the camp with plyometric exercises using the training ladder to improve footwork.
The training camp is for players who are 8 to 20 years old and requires only P1,800 as registration fee. All participants are then given jerseys and basketballs.
Tallo has started his Online Basketball Training Camp in the 90’s after he retired from competitive basketball.
One of his best products is PBA bound son Mark Javen ‘Mac-Mac’ Tallo.
Mac-Mac was a two-time Cesafi Most Valuable PLayer in Cebu for the Southwestern University (SWU)-Phinma Cobras. Mac-Mac also played for Ateneo and LaSalle in Manila before going back to Cebu to play for SWU-Phinma for three years.
He has one more playing year with SWU but has opted to play for the PBA D-League in preparation for the PBA Draft in September.
He scored 20 points in his debut game for Racal Motors against AMA Online School in the PBA D-League Aspirants Cup.
(l.biantan)