Jerom Lastimosa represented the best of UAAP Basketball

Karlo Lovenia
4 min readNov 22, 2023

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Photo Credit: UAAP Media Team

Star-making moments can create icons, for better or for worse.

For better: A young, talented individual is launched into the stratosphere.

For worse: A young, talented individual loses touch with what made him a star in the first place.

The UAAP creates stars, for better or for worse. One star it helped establish was Jerom Lastimosa, who had his moment in Season 81, in a do-or-die Final Four game versus the UP Fighting Maroons.

With less than three seconds left in regulation, then rookie Jerom caught an inbound pass from the corner, faked a three, and pulled up off the stepback to tie the game at 78 to force overtime. The Adamson crowd could not help but celebrate. Groans were heard on the side of the Maroons.

Adamson failed to finish the job during the extra five minutes and was eliminated from championship contention. However, unlike Jerrick Ahanmisi’s and-one that officials waived off, Jerom’s three-pointer did count. It counted as his star-making moment that established him as a force to be reckoned with for years to come.

He became a star. He was launched into the stratosphere. Yet, it was only a matter of time until he lost touch with what got him there in the first place. Hard work. Humility. A probinsyano charm that had the potential of turning into arrogance.

Heel turns (read: players/people turning into a villain in one’s narrative) have become commonplace in the world of the UAAP. It’s been highlighted even more in the era of social media and tribalism, where the game has been turned into a war between black and white. You can’t like one thing without hating the other thing. Confidence can easily become misconstrued as arrogance. This is especially evident with players who have emerged as stars at a young age.

Kiefer Ravena turned from an admired phenom to (an unnecessarily) hated centerpiece. Kai Sotto who was once deemed the next big thing, is now the butt of plenty of negativity around basketball discussions. It’s pointless to discuss whether these heel turns in the minds of basketball fans are right or wrong. The fact of the matter is, it happens.

The heel turn should have happened for Jerom. Except it didn’t.

There were plenty of instances when it could have happened. A poor Season 82 and failing to make the Final Four in Season 84 could have made him bitter and angry. Bouncing back during Season 85 and even getting invites to join the National Team could have made his head bigger throughout the process. There were even opportunities this past offseason when he could have expressed disappointment at officials regarding stories that circulated regarding his injuries.

Even when there were these chances to strike our backs with a steel chair, Jerom never did. That’s not to say he was a pushover. During the recent news cycle regarding his ACL tear, he sniped back to columnists in a way that only Jerom Lastimosa could have. It was straight to the point but playful. It pointed out something was fake news without dismissing the writer, even though he had every reason to be critical of the media. It came with a type of charm that was distinctly Jerom Lastimosa.

He was always the babyface but he was never overbearing in being the underdog. He was a player with impeccable morals, but he never found the need to explicitly highlight this. He never had to say that he showcased hustle, loyalty, and respect. How he played on the court showed that he truly never gave up.

Jerom’s legacy lies in how he showcased impeccable heart, toughness, and fighting spirit by simply playing hoop with a smile. He helped the Soaring Falcons climb back from large deficits with a type of joy that’s difficult to find in the polarizing environment which is the UAAP. He reminded us that at the end of the day, the UAAP is at its best when it is a league where young athletes can play a child’s game and have fun in the process.

It couldn’t have been captured any better than Jerom’s final moment as a UAAP player. With Ateneo securing one last stop, Kyle Gamber just had to dribble it out and let time expire so the Blue Eagles could leave with a 25-point win. But Jerom Lastimosa stood there in front of a boy, asking Kyle to give him the ball for one last shot.

Kyle obliged and Jerom happily walked into one final three-pointer. Swish. For one last time, Jerom Lastimosa sent home the entire Mall of Asia Arena crowd with a smile on their face.

The UAAP created an icon in Jerom Lastimosa. These stars tend to come with baggage, but not Jerom. Instead, he comes out of the league as a legend for the better; someone who was launched into the stratosphere to show the best of what UAAP basketball has to offer. Impeccable vibes. Joy. Pure love of the game.

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Karlo Lovenia
Karlo Lovenia

Written by Karlo Lovenia

Always aching for a pick-up game. Basketball, Tech, Self-development, and a lot of reflection. Marketing by profession, HB and SLAM PH by obsession.

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