Whatever happened to Jon Ordonio?

Former PBA cager Jon Ordonio recently sent an e-mail explaining the circumstances behind his sudden departure from Manila in November 2004. It’s been over five years since he left and Ordonio hadn’t made contact until a few days ago.

Ordonio, 33, was born in Salinas, California. His mother Corazon is a full-blooded Filipina whose father is from Bauang, La Union, and mother from Hawaii. The 6-2 guard with the 40-inch vertical leap made his PBA debut as a Fil-Am with Pop Cola in 1999. He went on to suit up for Alaska and Red Bull until for some strange reason, his name was included in a watch list of eight Fil-Am players suspected of forging documents to acquire Filipino citizenship.

Ordonio is clearly half-Filipino and there’s no doubt he has Filipino lineage.

In his six-year PBA career, Ordonio was never a star in the mold of a Ryan Reyes or a Willie Miller. He posted his highest scoring average as a rookie, hitting at a 7.5 clip in 33 games with a high of 16. Ordonio wound up averaging 3.4 points in 171 total games.

Ordonio was a role player, someone who did the dirty work on the court, picking up loose balls in wild dives, setting picks, deflecting passes and playing hard-nosed defense. He was never a serious three-point threat and in his PBA career, knocked down only 10 of 56 attempts – less than 20 percent accuracy. But Ordonio worked hard to improve, game after game, and coaches rewarded his dedication by signing him to series of contracts that extended his career to six seasons.

The way Ordonio was told to leave the country was heartless. He was given only three days to pack his belongings after making it to the Department of Justice’s black list. His wife Jacquie and their two kids Kobe, 5, and Tahjae, 3, were in shock as was Ordonio himself.

Worse, Jacquie decided to stay in Manila. Ordonio decided to leave with the two boys for the US and left his wife behind.

“It was very hard for me to leave the country (but) I knew God had a plan for me and my family,” he said. “I didn’t know what it was but because of my faith in Him, something good was going to happen. Jacquie had her own life going on. We didn’t work out but it didn’t bother me. My job was to take care of my kids. She decided to stay so I flew back with Kobe and Tahjae.”

When Ordonio and the boys got to the Manila airport to check in, he was informed that the flight to San Francisco was cancelled. Ordonio asked if they could stay the night and leave the next day but immigration officials insisted on taking the flight to Los Angeles instead.

“I had to call my parents and my dad drove all the way down to Los Angeles from Monterey (120 miles south of downtown San Francisco) to pick us up,” he recounted. “So there I was, with my kids, being escorted out of the country. My kids were young so they didn’t know what was going on and they don’t remember. The good thing about it was that I didn’t have to wait in line. I got on the plane with the boys and I prayed to God. I prayed for a safe flight. I prayed for my life to turn around, for God to take care of me and my kids. I told God I would get in the backseat because when I was in Manila, all I wanted to be was in the front seat and I did what I wanted to do. It didn’t work out and now, I cried out to God.”

Ordonio said since landing in the US, he has rediscovered himself and found a new life.

“When I got back, I went to the gym and found Taryn,” he went on. “Taryn and I went to high school together. She was in the gym watching her son because he had practice. I sat next to her, showed her pictures of my kids. We talked a bit and I went off to lift weights. Later that week, we hung out then two years later, on Jan. 21, 2007, we got married. Before that, I was in and out of court going through all the legal issues with Jacquie, going through the divorce and custody.”

Ordonio said Jacquie stayed in Manila only about six to seven months more then flew back to the US. “She was in a relationship so when she came back, it was only to visit the boys,” continued Ordonio. “She ended up staying. To make a long story short, our divorce was final and I have custody of Kobe and Tahjae. She moved down to San Diego in July 2007. Since then, she hasn’t called, texted or sent me an email to see how the boys are doing.”

Ordonio said marrying Taryn was the best thing that ever happened to him.

“The boys call Taryn mom,” he said. “Taryn has a 13-year-old son DeSean. He’s in eighth grade and he plays basketball. He has Filipino blood. His grandmother is full Filipina.”

Ordonio said Kobe is now 10 and Tahjae, eight, plus, he has a 17-month-old boy Dekota – an amalgam of the first two letters of his brothers names, DeSean, Kobe and Tahjae.

Ordonio said Kobe will become the star he never was. “On Youtube, you’ll see Kobe when he was eight and he’s way better now,” he gushed. “College kids, high school kids, you name it, are going nuts when they see him play. My stepson is about 5-8 now, very tall. Tahjae is only an inch shorter than Kobe and they’re 18 months apart. So Taryn and I have our hands full but we’re loving every minute of it. It’s a challenge at times but that’s what being a parent is all about.”