Tallo wants more permanent spot in La Salle’s rotation
It was not the homecoming that he had hoped as Cebuano Mark Jayven Tallo sat from the bench and looked on as his La Salle Green Archers got ousted by Adamson Soaring Falcons from the 2012 Philippine Collegiate Champions League last Thursday at the Cebu Coliseum.
Tallo, once a hot prospect who brought the unheralded Cebu Institute of Technology-University Wildkittens to the promised land in the Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation Inc. juniors division competition in 2009, has seen his stock dip in the last two years following his much-ballyhooed transfer from the Ateneo Blue Eagles to rivals La Salle.
That and his inconsistent play during this past season, has put the youngster’s collegiate career in some sort of limbo. But Tallo, the son of former PBA player Mark Tallo, is keeping his spirits up in spite of the knee injury that sidelined him and kept him from playing in front of his hometown fans this past week.
According to Tallo, the injury will keep him off the court for three months.
“I’m disappointed and frustrated at the same time. I just felt that it was my time to get some playing time with the injuries to LA (Revilla) and Thomas (Torres),” said Tallo in an interview at halftime of the said game between the Falcons and the Archers.
Tallo also expressed his frustrations with regards to his spot on the rotation under the mentorship of head coach Gee Abanilla.
Article continues after this advertisement“I was struggling all season long. The playing time has been very inconsistent. There are times that I’ll get really amped up and excited to play but then, coach will just sit me down. It’s really an on and off thing and I just hope to earn a more permanent spot on the rotation,” said Tallo, who aside from Revilla and Torres, must also battle Almond Vosotros and Luigi dela Paz for minutes on the floor.
Still, Tallo is looking forward to four more years donning the green and white as he holds no regrets for choosing La Salle over Ateneo, even if the latter already has two crowns since his departure. “I don’t regret making that decision. I am where I’m supposed to be,” he said. Correspondent Jonas Panerio
