Cardona ripe for pros

La Salle star Mark Cardona admits he’s intimidated by players in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) but hopes to overcome his fears when he finally turns pro.

"Ang taas ng tingin ko sa mga PBA players," he says.

A week ago, Cardona and his agent Mike Gonzalez went to the national team tryouts at the Adidas Sports Kamp in the Global City.

Cardona didn’t enter the gym because he was embarrassed to barge in on his heroes. Gonzalez spoke to coach Chot Reyes while Cardona waited outside.

Cardona will apply for the PBA draft on Aug. 7 and expects to be picked either first or second with Anthony Washington the other hot prospect.

"Iba ang PBA," he says. "Alam nila how to read players. But okay lang sa akin. Makapal naman ang mukha ko sa basketball. I’ll be competitive. Excited ako to play especially since ang mga makakatapat ko ay sina Kenneth Duremdes, Willie Miller, Mark Caguioa, Danny Seigle, RenRen Ritualo and Brandon Cablay–lahat sila mga two-guards kagaya ko."

It doesn’t matter to Cardona which team he plays for in the PBA as long as he is able to show his wares.

"I hope to play for a team that can use me, where I’ll be comfortable," continues Cardona. "I just want to play. I hope to help my team win games and championships. Sana the team that gets me plays a running game."

Will his patented hook shot be easy prey for PBA shot blockers?

"Let’s see but I think obra naman sa PBA," says Cardona. "Kung si (Tony) Parker, he gets away with hook shots in the NBA, ako pa sa PBA? I started using the hook shot playing for Carson High in Los Angeles. Idol ko kasi si Shaq with his spin moves and sweeping hooks. I’ve been a Shaq fan since he played at Orlando."

Cardona, 23, was born on the seedy side of Mandaluyong. He grew up with bad company in a poor neighborhood where crime and drugs were a way of life. To make some money, he sold cigarets as a boy, earning P2 a pack. When he got older, he took odd jobs as a carpenter. He saw friends hauled to jail for taking or pushing drugs and vowed never to touch the stuff.

Basketball was Cardona’s way out of poverty. He played streetball and was good at it, eating up defenders on the Pacho cement courts of the San Felipe Neri church where Bong Alvarez and Johnedel Cardel used to dazzle spectators with their acrobatics. His uncle Jun, now living in Canada, taught him how to play when he was 10.

His father Reynaldo was a Tour of Luzon cycling champion but had no gainful employment. He had difficulty making both ends meet. His mother Criselda got a job as a domestic helper in Greece in 1983, leaving behind her husband and five children. Two years later, she was a stowaway in a freight ship and landed in San Francisco with the help of friendly Filipino seamen.

In 1985, Cardona’s mother married a Filipino US citizen, Amando Gamboa, in Los Angeles.

In 1994, Cardona’s father died of tuberculosis. Two years later, Cardona left for Los Angeles to reunite with his mother. He enrolled at Carson High and played for the Colts varsity as a recruit from physical education class. A disagreement with coach Richard Mason exiled Cardona to limbo.

Cardona returned to Manila in 1998 for a vacation. He couldn’t make up his mind where he wanted to stay so he went back and forth from Manila to Los Angeles until deciding in June 1999, to study at Jose Rizal University. Cardona tried out for the Heavy Bombers team but quit because of personal reasons. He was hard up and went back to Los Angeles after five months.

"I was frustrated and I wanted to forget basketball," relates Cardona. "I worked at the Seafood City restaurant to earn some money.

Then, one day, I was invited to play for the Rosario team in a Cavite league in Cerritos. I went up against Mark (Caguioa) and played okay. During the tournament, Ramon Celis introduced me to Mike Gonzalez who was recruiting players for La Salle. Mike invited me to go back to Manila and play for La Salle."

In September 2000, Cardona got another chance to play college hoops here. He passed a test for a Department of Education high school diploma and qualified as a La Salle freshman in 2001. In his rookie season, Cardona took Best Player honors in nine of 14 games and La Salle won the championship.

While studying at La Salle, Cardona took his meals at alumnus Herman Jugo’s house on nearby Dominga street. Jugo was Gonzalez’ classmate from grade school to college in Taft and they looked out for Cardona. For three years, Cardona ate his breakfast, lunch and dinner at the Jugos residence.

How appropriate that in Cardona’s fourth and last year with the Archers, La Salle claimed another UAAP crown. For Cardona, it was a signal to seek greener pastures.

Cardona says his mother and stepfather are barely surviving in the US. His mother works as a filler at Office Depot in Los Angeles. Two children from his mother’s first marriage and two daughters from her second marriage are in the US.

Cardona, oldest brother Raymundo and sister Rowena, who is a bit actress, live in Manila.

In explaining his decision to turn pro, Cardona says he’s preparing for the future. He eventually plans to marry his girlfriend of four years, Daisy Gonzalez, a medicine proper student at La Salle Dasmariñas. And he has assumed the responsibility of taking care of his brother and sister in Manila, his relatives in Mandaluyong, and his mother and her children in Los Angeles.

Cardona describes himself as a survivor. He credits his ability to adapt to tough situations–"diskarte sa buhay"–as the key to his survival.

As for playing in the PBA, Cardona says he can’t wait. "Ever since maliit ako, ‘yun na ang dream ko, to play in the PBA like my idol Samboy Lim," he adds. "Magkakatotoo na rin ang dream ko."

Cardona’s mother and sister Maricar are flying in from Los Angeles to attend the PBA draft.