Justine “Tebol” Garcia’s Basketball Journey
Adamson University’s sensational guard Justine “Tebol” Garcia’s basketball journey has come a long way. Tebol, who earned the nickname after bumping his head on the table while in kindergarten, is not a top high school prodigy, but he has already earned a name for himself.
Garcia did not come from a wealthy family, so he started selling peanuts when faced with financial flexibility. Tebol took this job to help the family survive the challenges of daily living. He was not ashamed of doing this even while he was a starter for his Adamson high school team.
He has a business named ‘Teb’s Peanuts,’ and he posts on social media that he is selling peanuts. Even his Adamson coach, Mike Fermin, is proud of it and admires Tebol for his dedication to helping his family. With his strong showing in Adamson, he made the Mythical Team and steered the Baby Falcons to a UAAP Season 86 juniors’ basketball championship. Following his stellar performance in high school, three UAAP and NCAA schools have shown interest in recruiting him.
Only a month after his campaign in the UAAP, the 5-foot-11 guard from Pampanga also propelled the Baby Falcons to the final game of the 2024 Smart-NBTC National Finals. Although they lost to the eventual champion Fil-Am Nation Select-USA, 79-71, Tebol showed that he was the main man for Adamson by averaging 14 points per game in five outings. He also had a game-high 20 markers and was named to the Division 1 Mythical Five.
Garcia was thankful for NBTC and happy because of the different opponents he had faced. He also praised Fil-Am Nation Select for their strong performance. The senior is still undecided about his next journey in college. His main goal is to finish his school requirements to graduate and move on to the next level.
Despite his prominence on the hard court, Garcia shared that basketball is not his first love and only came to him by chance. He started his athletic career in track and field back in San Fernando. The graduating Grade 12 guard shared that he was a multi-event athlete, participating in sprints, long jump, triple jump, and the 4×400 relay, translating to his speed and verticality from the oval to the court.
Tebol Garcia added that there is no basketball in his barangay, so he participated in track and field in CLARAA when he was in Grade 5. Then, he was seen by the basketball coach of San Fernando Elementary School. His coach converted him to basketball, which enabled him to shift from track and field to the hard court in CLARAA. He participated in the Palarong Pambansa, and it all started there.
After starting his secondary education at Pampanga High School, Garcia eventually transferred to Adamson in the ninth grade and made history for the Baby Falcons years later. When asked if there is a chance that he will be a dual-athlete, Garcia reiterated that it would be hard.
Despite his struggles, Garcia persevered after their simple family home in San Fernando, Pampanga, was demolished in 2023. They were forced to move in with his grandmother just as he slowly realized stardom with the Baby Falcons.
As his team was moving toward the UAAP high school finals in Season 85, he and his parents were stressed about losing their home and worried about when they’d get another one. They decided to get back on their feet, and their peanut business was a big help to them. The father and son cooked raw peanuts while his mother helped with the packaging.
That was not the only struggle; the hard part was transporting the product, and Tebol single-handedly took care of this. He carried about 100 bottles filled with two large plastic bags and rode a bus with his belongings up to Doroteo Jose in Sta. Cruz, Manila. From there, he took the LRT and got off at a station near his school on San Marcelino Street in Malate.
The work was so hard, but Tebol never complained. Despite his hard work, he never got any penny of this as they went straight to his parents, Jojo and Donacel. His peanuts were sold out most of the time, thanks to his teammates, coaches, teachers, and school officials. When he recalls his struggles from last year, Tibol’s tears would fall down. Tebol’s basketball journey will surely flourish with his hard work and dedication.
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