PBA: Jerom Lastimosa raring to recover from injury, join Magnolia

Jerom Lastimosa is eager to go full throttle and learn from some of the best as he joins a deep backcourt rotation of Magnolia, which selected him at ninth pick during the PBA Rookie Draft on Sunday.

The 26-year-old guard said he has yet to fully recover from a knee injury he sustained during his final playing year with Adamson University in the UAAP. But he's beaming with optimism that he can make it in time to join the Hotshots in Season 49.

"Sa ngayon, nagre-rehab lang ako and sabi ng PT ko naman nasa around 70 to 80 percent na ako so hopefully, as soon as possible, makabalik na ako sa paglalaro," Lastimosa said on the sidelines of the Draft at the Glorietta Activity Center in Makati.

"Hindi ko inexpect na Magnolia ‘yung magda-draft sa akin but ayun nga, sobrang blessed ako kasi sa lahat ng teams, I think ‘yung pinakamaganda na team ‘yung napuntahan ko."

[For now, I'm still rehabbing and my PT said I'm around 70 to 80 percent so hopefully, as soon as possible, I can get back to playing.

At Magnolia, Lastimosa won't be having a shortage of support. He will bolster a backcourt that has a number of veterans like Mark Barroca and Paul Lee.

And the prospect of being under the wings of these seasoned court generals is already a welcome sight for the former Adamson standout.

"Sobrang excited kasi madadagdagan ‘yung learnings ko like from kila Kuya (Mark) Barroca."

—JMB, GMA Integrated News