ODA Tampus just finished playing in a tune-up game for Flying V in the Filoil Flying V Centre when he went back to his 'day job' just a few steps from the dugout to the office located inside the venue.
Such is the unique arrangement that Tampus is in. Aside from being a player for the Flying V Thunder in the PBA D-League, he is also one of the employees of Filoil Flying V Sports, which manages the venue formerly known as The Arena in San Juan.
The 26-year-old Tampus is one of the persons that handles the operations side of the Filoil Flying V Centre, a job he has been doing for more than a year at the end of his UAAP career for La Salle from 2010 to 2013 where he won a league title.
"Nasa operations ako ng arena. Kung may sira, kung ano dapat ayusin, sinasabi sa akin," said Tampus.
Tampus already has a stable nine-to-five job, which is why he was hesitant at first when Flying V boss Raffy Villavicencio, who is also one of the team managers of the Green Archers, offered him a spot in the company's team that was being formed for the PBA D-League.
"Ayoko na talaga maglaro. Sinabihan ako ni Boss Raffy na maglaro daw ako. Sabi ko, 'Boss hindi ko na yata kaya.' Sabi niya subukan ko kaya ginrab ko na 'yung chance," said Tampus.
Tampus is currently one of the role players of the Flying V squad that is being led by Jeron Teng, a former La Salle player himself. He said his transition back to an active player was not a difficult one since he regularly works out even though he was out of basketball for a year.
"Araw araw din ako nagwo-work out. Hindi ako tumigil kaya konting conditioning na lang. 'Yung basketball shape na lang talaga. Fit 'yung katawan ko pero hindi pa basketball shape," he added.
Like a student-athlete, Tampus is now in a balancing act as he works in the office while being a PBA D-League player at the same time. Keeping himself fit has helped him in his work as well as in the transition from being an office worker to a competitive basketball player.
"Hard work siguro. Talagang hindi ako nagpupuyat kasi 9 ang pasok ko tapos practice ng gabi. Nag-weweights pa ako tapos talagang alaga sa sarili," Tampus said.
More importantly, Tampus is thankful to Villavicencio as well as Filoil Flying V Sports head Joey Guillermo and his co-workers led by former cager Bennett Palad for the second chance at basketball.
"Si Boss Raffy, siya talaga 'yung tumutulong sa akin since college pa. Madali lang naman (ang trabaho) kasi lagi naman nandiyan sila para tulungan ako," said Tampus.