Jerom Lastimosa’s career at Adamson University came to a tragic end.
According to a report by the Soaring Falcons’ correspondent Janna Ehido, it was confirmed that the 25-year-old senior suffered a complete ACL tear when he suited up against the University of the Philippines last Wednesday.
The 5-foot-10 guard from Dumaguete City made his debut in the UAAP Season 86 Men’s Basketball Tournament at the 2:10 mark of the first quarter.
He played for over seven minutes in the first half, before returning to action in the third quarter.
Then everything took a turn for the worse.
Lastimosa was fielded again at around the six-minute mark of the third quarter, and with 5:19 left in the third period, shock and horror struck.
The 32nd Southeast Asian Games gold medalist collided knees with UP’s Gerry Abadiano while driving to the basket. He was last seen being carried to the locker room, limping.
Nevertheless, Lastimosa intends to stay with the Soaring Falcons until the very end. He told Tiebreaker Times that he will postpone his surgery until after Adamson’s final game of the season.
After all, he wants to be with his team when they sing the school’s hymn together, one last time.
Though there were numerous interests in him from Korean and Japanese teams to play overseas, none panned out as no formal offers were made.
Lastimosa was part of the Gilas pool in the sixth window of the FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers 2023 before eventually making the lineup for the SEA Games.
It was Lastimosa who decided to play out his final year at Adamson despite already nursing an injury during a freak accident that happened during their preseason build-up.
