Jerom Lastimosa will run it one last time with Adamson University.
The 24-year-old guard out of Dumaguete City has set aside numerous offers from both B.League and KBL teams to have one last shot at UAAP glory.
Though the decision was tough, Lastimosa shared that his first promise to his parents – dad Fernando and mom Sarita – when he left Asian College-Dumaguete in 2016 was that he will obtain a degree in Manila.
And he is just a few steps away from reaching that dream.
“The reason why I chose to play my final year in college is that I want to finish my studies first. ‘Yun yung pangako ko sa parents ko nung lumipat ako dito sa Manila,” Lastimosa, who is taking up Sports Management in Adamson, told Tiebreaker Times.
“Yung money kikitain ko rin naman one day pero yung diploma, yun yung panghahawakan ko habang buhay.”
Despite already being a sensation in Dumaguete, it was in San Marcelino where Lastimosa became known.
Standing at just 5-foot-11, Lastimosa showed great heart right from his freshman year in Adamson.
During his first two years in Adamson, he never shied away from the big moments.
Though there were a lot of heartbreaks along the way, Lastimosa never gave up, eventually carrying the Soaring Falcons to the Final Four in Season 85.
“Gusto ko masuklian ang pagmamahal na binigay ng mga Klasmeyt para sa akin,” he expressed. “Kahit nung down na down kami, hindi nila kami iniwan.
“Hindi masusuklian ng pera ang ginawa ng Adamson para sa akin ng ilang taon.”
In his UAAP career, Lastimosa has already played 57 games.
He holds career averages of 11.5 points, 3.98 rebounds, 3.31 assists, and 1.12 steals per contest.
But now that he is returning, he hopes to get to go past game no. 73 – the Finals of UAAP Season 86.
“Ngayon na nakapag-Final Four na kami, sisikapin ko na i-lead yung team sa Finals at sana sa championship. Puwede namang mangarap hindi ba?” he said.
“Once in a lifetime lang ito at ito yung huling pagkakataon ko na makagawa ng history sa eskwehalan na nag-alaga, nagpaaral, at nakatulong sa akin.”
