Magnolia Hotshots’ 2024 PBA draft pick Jerom Lastimosa. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net
MANILA, Philippines—Magnolia will have to make do without its 2024 PBA Draft first round selection for the remainder of PBA Governors’ Cup.
After a 124-103 win over Terrafirma in Group A, coach Chito Victolero confirmed that Lastimosa would not be seeing action for the Hotshots in the import-laden conference despite heavy anticipations.
“Jerom told me [that] he started with plyo and by this month, he’ll start running. The goal is for him to join practice by October or November but definitely, he won’t play for this conference,” said Victolero on Sunday at Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
READ: PBA: Magnolia flattens Terrafirma in rebound win
“According to the medical staff, he can start training in October, but only for running. I don’t think that’ll cut it because this conference might end in November.”
Magnolia took a risk with Lastimosa as they selected the Adamson product with the ninth overall pick of this year’s draft despite a nagging ACL injury.
Lastimosa tore his ACL in October of last year during his final go-around with the Soaring Falcons in the UAAP.
READ: Jerom Lastimosa gets high praise as UAAP career ends
Victolero stated that the Hotshots are in no rush to see Lastimosa hit the court with a Magnolia jersey on, emphasizing that they care about the sharpshooting guard’s health.
“We don’t want to force Jerom and have his knee re-injured. We want him to be healthy when he returns so we won’t have anything to think about.”
“Jerom is a very special player. We picked him as someone who can really help this team but for now, since he’s out, we’ll just fill in that space when it comes to offense.”
So far even without their top selection, the Hotshots are doing well for themselves with a 2-2 record in Group A.