Ordonio boys making waves

Former PBA player Jon Ordonio’s sons are making a splash in college basketball in California. The proud father has told The STAR that his dream of having them play in tandem at this level has come true, and both are developing beautifully.

Both of the boys – Kobe and Tahjae – attend Gavilan College in Gilroy, CA. Gavilan is ranked number 25 in the state among over 80 junior colleges in California alone. They will play their first game against top 10 ranked team, College of Sequoia. 

 “Eighteen-year-old Tahjae is a freshman. He finished up the best season ever at Monterey High School,” said Ordonio, who played for Pop Cola in the pro league in 1999. “We went all the way to the Northern California Finals in San Francisco, but lost by 3. We were the No. 8 seed and knocked off the No. 1 seed and also the No. 4 seed Palo Alto HS where Jeremy Lin attended, a Division 1 school. We are Div III, so we had a big hill to climb.”

Had Monterey won that game, they would’ve gone to the State Championship for Div III, but they came up short. At Gavilan, Tahjae is playing the two-guard spot, and is very close to 6’4. The last time he played with his brother was when he was a sophomore and Kobe was a senior. They won the high school’s first CCS Championship in history and played very well together. Jon is looking forward to them playing well together again. 

 Kobe, meanwhile, is a 20-year-old sophomore. He went to Cabrillo Junior College  in his freshman year at age 18 and played very well. Kobe averaged 15 points per and 5.0 assists. He scored a career-high 30 points against the No. 1 team in the state, City College of San Francisco, which ended up winning the state that same year. 

“Kobe had to redshirt last year, so he’s been sitting out for a long time,” said Ordonio, who spent six years as a journeyman guard in the PBA. “They both had a jamboree in San Francisco last month and went 2-2. It was pretty much a showcase because colleges from all over were there scouting. That Sunday night, he received his first offer to Notre Dame de Nemur (previously College of Notre Dame where Nic Belasco went). It is now Division II. Ryan Cooper is the head coach now. He was the assistant coach at San Jose State last year when he came to watch Kobe and was impressed by what he saw.”

That same week, the elder Ordonio sibling also went to visit a NAIA school in Rocklin, CA (Sacramento) called William Jessup University. Kobe had an unofficial visit and was able to practice with the team. They are among a handful of interested in Kobe.

“Things are moving pretty fast,” Ordonio added. “My dream as a father is for them to play on the same four-year team like most siblings do, but you never know what the Lord has planned. Right now, they just need to focus on school first and just play. Everything else will work itself out. This time of the year is when all the stress comes back, because the kids are back playing. I was the assistant coach at their high school for the last four years, but I am taking a break and just being Dad!”

The good news is that Jon has an 11-year-old son named Dekota. The retired guard wants to make sure the youngest also gets that quality time in, since Dad has been able to work with his kuyas. The proud Dad has more to be proud of.