CEBU CITY — Southwestern University’s Mark Jayven Tallo is determined to avoid the mistakes that led to their epic collapse in last year’s Cesafi championship series against University of the Visayas.
In that series, the Cobras took a commanding 2-0 lead against but the Lancers found their groove and stormed back to win the best-of-five showdown.
Tallo’s wayward three-point shot gave possession back to the Lancers and paved the way for Wowie Escosio’s title-clinching tip-in with less than a second remaining.
[See Escosio the unlikely hero as UV Lancers complete historic finals comeback]
Tallo, the reigning league MVP also missed the potential game-winning triple as time expired.
Now the Cobras have another shot at the title, against the University of San Carlos Warriors starting on Monda.
And with an improved Cobras squad that emphasizes on sharing the basketball and better communication, Tallo is confident they can finally move to the top.
“I learned na dapat we should play as a team and dapat hindi pwede na ako lang. My experience last year is all I can use, na dapat hindi na y un mauulit,” said Tallo.
“We were more individualistic and hindi disciplined last year. We don’t play that way anymore,” boldly added the 6-foot-1 guard.
Cameroonian import Landry Sanjo is expected to deliver huge, but the Cobras are also hoping to get big numbers from rookie guards Jasper Parker, Anton Pardo and Jovanie Luz.
“USC is really a tough team. Hindi pa nag start ang Cesafi sila ang nakita ko na kalaban na talagang mahihirapan kami. But I like the way they play. They’re physical but not dirty. They pressure a lot and they have the heart to win,” added Tallo.
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