The
Mindoro Jade, not unlike similar precious stones unearthed somewhere else, is purified
in the hands of a seasoned, tested artisan. Confucius once noted that the wise have
likened jade to a virtue. One’s master craftsman or life coach is usually his own
father. The boy was only 12 when he started
playing the game invented by James A. Naismith of Springfield, Massachusetts.
Jade C. Talampas, the 20-year old, 6”2 shooting guard of the Arellano University Chiefs in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) hails from Mamburao, Occidental Mindoro. But before that, he was also in the line-ups of the UST Growling Tigers and the San Beda Red Cubs.
Jade, like a gemstone, during his early days in basketball was moulded, formed and shaped by his father Raymond Talampas into a solid rock of a basketeer. Raymond, the father, is also a star cager in their place which is Barangay Tangkalan of said municipality in northern Occidental Mindoro, the province’s capital town. They even played in a same team then as Jade Talampas recalled in his memoirs posted by Triple Junard in his blog “Im a Baller” at Facebook last June 28, 2020. In that blog entry, Jade also recalls, “Grabe talaga yung mga panahon na iyon, sobrang determinado kami ni papa sa pag-te-train sa basketball. Nagbunga din naman lahat nang paghihirap namin noong makuha ko yung rookie at MVP awards sa Barangay League.”
Jade Talampas started to pick his first basketball in a high school official game at the campus of Occidental Mindoro National High School (OMNHS) and his skills were polished there with Raymond always in the side line. Mr. Kristent Leo Tuscano, Jade’s teacher and later his interim trainer recalls, “Nagulat na lang ang lahat sa 360 degrees turn around ng skill sets niya sa basketball.” Unknown to his coaches and trainers in school, Jade is sort of undergoing special training sessions at home under his father Raymond. Their neighbors and townfolks were used to seeing the father and son tandem doing their early morning jog from Tangkalan to the Provincial Capitol compound and vice-versa. Talampas at first was a Sepak Takraw player joining provincial and regional meets when he was in his elementary grades.
Tuscano was Jade’s teacher in Research who gave him some tips in terms of physical and mental preparations. But that was nothing compared to the inputs and lessons Jade gets from Raymond, his father. Tuscano added, “Raymond is hands on up to now in privately coaching his son.” The younger Talampas’s official trainer at OMNHS in the Provincial Meet that year was Jojo Magpantay and their coach was Kristian Orly Benitez.
Sometime in October 2018, in his last year for San Beda High School, Talampas right from the opening buzzer controlled the game beating Mapua High School in a 84-71 victory in the NCAA 94 Men’s Basketball Tournament that year. Like a precious stone polished by fire, he pumped in 8 points in San Beda’s 15-2 start. At the final buzzer, Talampas scored 26 big points, 10 rebounds and it was a huge double-double in a crucial game.
Basketball is one of the many sports where ultimately things aren’t permanent. A time will come when a boy has to be on his or her own on the road to the pro league, the El Dorado of any sports. The people of Tamarawlandia must keep their fingers crossed for its fruition.
It is the time when the jade is already polished to near perfection by its first craft worker.
References: https://sports.abs-cbn.com/ncaa/news/2018/10/26/talampas-peaks-right-time-red-cubs-stay-alive-ncaa-94-48883
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