When one door closes, another one opens. Well, in the case of Jerom Lastimosa, a whole lot of oportunities opened up for him.
During the tailend of UAAP Season 85, the prolific guard out of Dumaguete received a lot of interest from overseas teams with Jeonju KCC being the frontrunner.
However, the Egis ended up signing Fil-Canadian sensation Calvin Epistola. The 24-year-old Lastimosa, meanwhile, committed to playing out his final year at Adamson University.
His decision ended up opening a lot of doors for him.
Charles Tiu tapped Lastimosa to be his main guard in Strong Group — a team that will compete in Dubai. Meanwhile, Chot Reyes also listed him as part of the 24-man Gilas pool for Window 6.
Though overwhelmed by everything that is happening, Lastimosa is just grateful — relishing all the things that have come his way.
“First of all, nagpapasalamat ako kay Papa God dahil binigay niya sa akin yung opportunity na ito,” the 5-foot-10 floor general said to Tiebreaker Times.
“Sobrang saya ko ngayon kasi unti-unti nang dumarating yung blessings sa akin.”
Lastimosa though admitted that his schedule is now as tight as ever.
For the past two weeks, he had been training with Strong Group either at Saint Benilde Gym or Activate Hoops. They will leave for Dubai on Friday.
Starting last Monday, he will also train with Gilas at night as well.
Of course, he is also attending studies at Adamson.
“Kailangan lang talaga i-manage yung time ko dahil may school pa rin ako. Ang importante lang dun is healthy yung katawan ko palagi,” he shared.
Managing time is what separates the superstars and the all-stars from the regular pros.
In Gilas, he will get to learn that and more.
That is why even if he does not crack the Gilas lineup that will take on Lebanon on the 24th and Jordan on the 27th, Lastimosa just wants to learn from the greats so that he can bring that not just to the Soaring Falcons but also use it for the rest of his career.
(C) FIBA.basketball
“Ngayon na nakasama ako sa Gilas pool, kailangan ko pa magsipag pa para ma-lineup. Gusto ko rin matuto sa mga kuya ko, tulad nila Kuya Scottie [Thompson], Kuya CJ [Perez], Kuya Kief [Ravena]… lahat sila hindi lang magaling kasi masipag din sila. Yun yung gusto ko madagdag sa akin, yung sipag para makuha yung pangarap ko.”
