Adamson guard Jerom Lastimosa. UAAP PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines–Adamson star guard Jerom Lastimosa has done some heavy lifting in the home stretch of the UAAP Season 85 men’s basketball tournament, as the Falcons soared to catch the last bus to the Final Four.
Lastimosa, who braved a right foot injury in the second round, towed Adamson to the Final Four for the first time since 2018 following a thrilling 80-76 win against La Salle in a win-or-go-home duel for the last playoff spot.
For his heroics, Lastimosa was voted unanimously as the Collegiate Press Corps UAAP Player of the Week.
The 5-foot-10 combo guard poured half of his 22 points in Adamson’s telling third-quarter rally, where he blanked La Salle all on his own with a personal 11-0 run that gave them the lead for the first time. 57-56.
And as if that game-changing spree that turned the Falcons’ fate around from the brink of elimination wasn’t enough, Lastimosa came through in the clutch anew by calmly sinking the crucial free throws for a 79-76 cushion in the last 12 seconds.
The Falcons held on from there as Lastimosa climbed up to the stands much to the hype of the wild crowd as they spoiled a possible Ateneo-La Salle semis showdown and arranged duel against the top-seeded and twice-to-beat Ateneo starting Wednesday.
“We’re happy because we didn’t make it to the Final Four for almost four years. Now that we’re here, we will grab this opportunity and focus on the next game and really study Ateneo both offense and defense,” said Lastimosa, who added six assists and a steal on his decent 4-of-10 shooting clip from three.
“I told my teammates the game is not yet over even La Salle was up by 10 [in the third quarter]. We didn’t give up and I felt that we deserve to be in the Final Four,” he added.
Lastimosa stood out among other candidates led by Kai Ballungay of Ateneo, Evan Nelle of La Salle, and teammate AP Manlapaz for the award presented by the Philippine Sports Commission.
It’s the second straight citation of Lastimosa for the weekly honor being deliberated upon by the print and online media covering the collegiate beat.
Reigning champion and No. 2 University of the Philippines is in the other semis bracket against No. 3 National U.