Lastimosa willing to apprentice to Barroca, Jalalon at Magnolia

‘Sa lahat ng teams, I think pinaka-maganda na team yung napuntahan ko,’ says Magnolia draftee

jerom lastimosa pba draft magnolia

FORMER Gilas Pilipinas guard Jerom Lastimosa welcomed the idea of joining veterans Mark Barroca, Jio Jalalon, and Paul Lee in a loaded Magnolia Hotshots backcourt.

The 26-year-old playmaker was the first-round selection of the Hotshots in Sunday’s PBA rookie draft at the Glorietta in Makati at No. 9 overall, adding another piece to an already solid guard rotation.

Lastimosa doesn’t mind playing second or even third fiddle to his more experienced teammates.

“Sobrang excited kasi siguro madadagdagan yung mga learnings ko from kuya (Marc) Barroca, (Jio) Jalalon,” he said.

At Magnolia, he also gets to be mentored by one of the all-time PBA greats in Johnny Abarrientos, who acts as one of Chito Victolero’s deputies.

But truth to tell, Lastimosa isn’t lacking in experience either especially in terms of playing internationally.

He was included by former Gilas Pilipinas coach Chot Reyes in the team that regained for the Philippines the basketball gold medal in last year’s Southeast Asian Games in Cambodia.

“Nakapaglaro na ako at nakaharap na ako ng iba’t ibang players sa international tournaments. So yun siguro ang advantage ko sa ibang players dito sa draft,” said Lastimosa.

The native of Dumaguete, Negros Oriental must be that good that Magnolia gambled on him despite still recovering from an ACL surgery.

Right now, Lastimosa said he’s not yet 100 percent.

“Sa ngayon aggressive rehab ako and sabi ng PT ko, nasa 70-80 percent na ako. So hopefully, as soon as possible makabalik na ako sa paglalaro,” Lastimosa said.

His case of course, is nothing new as Jeremiah Gray and Luis Villegas were also picked by Terrafirma and Rain or Shine, respectively, in the last draft while even still in the recovery period of their ACL injuries.

And for that Lastimosa felt blessed ending up with the Hotshots.

“Hindi ko ini-expect na Magnolia ang magpi-pick sa akin,” he said. “Sa lahat ng teams, I think pinaka-maganda na team yung napuntahan ko.”