SWU top playmaker Tallo eyes more crowns, MVP titles

Mark Tallo soars for layup in Game 5 of the Cesafi men’s basketball tournament where he powered SWU to a 64-49 title-clinching win over USC last Sunday. (CDN PHOTO/LITO TECSON)

After a nightmarish end to the season last year, Southwestern University guard Mark Jayven Tallo found his “smile” in time to dispose of the pesky University of San Carlos Warriors, 64-49, in Game Five of the Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation Inc. (Cesafi) men’s basketball finals.

Tallo, the 6-foot guard whose father, Mark Tallo, played briefly in the PBA, was adjudged as the league’s Most Valuable Player. But unlike last year, when he won the same honor but faltered to bring home the ultimate prize, Tallo made sure to come out with the crown this season and submitted a double-double of 19 points and 11 rebounds along with three steals to help the Cobras’ cause.

The former La Salle and Ateneo guard admitted to feeling the pressure in the first four games of the series resulting in his mercurial play.

“The first four games, I was really eager to play. Di ako nakarelax. Masyadong focused talaga. Halos di na ako nag-smile. Pero sabi ko sa sarili ko na sa Game Five, I need to relax and smile and enjoy the game,” said Tallo after the match.

With the memory of last year’s disastrous Game Five where he struggled to find his mark en route to losing the game, 62-63, and the title to the University of the Visayas, still fresh in his mind, he said that he learned enough from that debacle to make sure that he and his squad never go through that again.

“Of course, nasa utak ko rin yun pero di ko na lang inisip ng masyado. The past is past. And when I thought about it, parang alam ko na ano ang dapat ko gawin,” he added.

But where does the buck stop for the now two-time MVP? He says he’s not done yet.

“This is a dream come true for me. But actually, this is just the beginning. My goal sa Cesafi is to be part of a ‘three-peat’ and a four-time MVP. I’m going to work on it,” boldly said Tallo.