ANTIPOLO — Jerom Lastimosa would rather move on instead of dwelling on the what-ifs after he and Magnolia saw the end of their PBA Season 50 Commissioner’s Cup campaign at the hands of Meralco on Saturday night.
The sophomore guard is simply charging to experience the tough endgame he had, where he only made half of his free throws with 23.5 seconds remaining, which could’ve enabled the Hotshots to tie the game yet again.
“Move on na ‘ko, especially doon sa namintis ko na free throw. Learnings na rin para sa akin,” he said shortly after their 105-102 loss at the Ynares Center here.
“Hindi naman mawawala ‘yung learnings, especially sa player. Kahit bata pa o matanda, yung learnings, darating at darating,” he added.
Lastimosa could understandably feel down about how it turned out, but he has plenty of reasons to stay upbeat at the same time, with the way he played.
Although he and Magnolia fell short of closing it out, the former Adamson star was the reason why the crew managed to remain in the thick of the fight after losing Clint Chapman late in the fourth as he fouled out of the match.
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He finished with 28 points, 21 of which he made in regulation and overtime as he went head-to-head with the more seasoned Bong Quinto, nailing tough shots–from layups to booming triples that made it a classic.
The Bolts, however, had more in the tank entering the home stretch, with CJ Cansino providing much-needed support as the Hotshots fizzled out.
“Credit doon sa Meralco players, talagang nalamangan nila yung energy namin,” Lastimosa said.
“Nawalan din kasi kami ng import sa dulo.”
Still, he kept his head up, for he liked not just the fight they showed being disarmed without reinforcement but the way he balled out as well.
Because he felt like he was starting to gain the trust of no less than Coach LA Tenorio, which was pretty evident when they let him loose in crunch time.
“Sobrang blessed, and sobrang natuwa ako kasi… nakukuha ko na ‘yung trust ni Coach LA,” he said.
“Masaya lang and sobrang blessed na ganun si Coach LA sa akin. Binibigyan niya ko ng green light just to make the plays.”
And even though their run in the conference has come to an end, Lastimosa felt that he grew as a player and as an individual in this midseason tourney.
“For me, yes. Kasi ang dami kong natutunan this conference, especially this kind of game, madami kang makukuha talaga as a person,” he said.
