How Siloys touch lives: Cebuanos go gaga over return of the prodigal cage son.

JONAS PANERIO

I’ve always took pride being on top of the latest basketball happenings here in Cebu. After all, it is my job to bring the freshest information regarding hoops to readers daily. And  although there might be times when these things slip by me, for the most part, I get to do my job fairly well.

Those being said, you really can’t mention Cebu basketball without mentioning one of the region’s proudest sons, Mark Jayven Tallo.

The son of one-time PBA player, Mark Tallo, the youngster had already made waves from the moment he debuted in the Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation Inc. (Cesafi), to the time he led the unheralded Cebu Institute of Technology-University Wildkittens to the juniors title to his much-talked about moves to Ateneo and La Salle.

But as huge as the waves were in his oft-criticized transfer from one Manila powerhouse to another, his return to Cebu carried nary a ripple.

After playing lackluster basketball in his first and only season in the UAAP with the Green Archers, Tallo saw the writing on the wall when La Salle recruited several more guards to join their camp. Feeling that his time was up and that his collegiate career needed a fresh start, the former Cesafi juniors MVP plotted a reboot and went home without much fanfare.

But inconspicuous as Tallo tried to be, players of his caliber don’t have the luxury of a low-profile and word of his return and enrollment at the Southwestern University, eventually found space in Cebu Daily News which bannered the scoop story entitled “The prodigal son returns.”

But still no official announcement was made. Not from Tallo, not from the Cobras.

Then during the Cebu Collegiate Invitational, which the city hosted in the summer of 2013, SWU head coach Raul “Yayoy” Alcoseba pulled out his trump card, which posted the perfect opportunity to announce the return of Cebu’s prodigal son.  “Mac (Tallo) is the future of the Cobras’ backcourt, especially since he will be eligible to play for four more years here,” Alcoseba said during that fateful admission.

That piece of news raised excitement levels through the roof as crowds were eager to welcome back Tallo with open arms.

The 6-foot guard promptly repaid the appreciation with stellar play that earned him the league’s Most Valuable Player award. And though the Cobras fell short of winning both the Cesafi and the Philippine Collegiate Champions League crowns, news of his exploits continued to enthrall readers of this publication each day.

What the future holds for this kid remains unknown. But rest assured that Cebu Daily News will be there to chronicle his play and cover Cebu’s basketball scene as best as we can, with the same amount of passion that we have grown proud of through the years.