Jerom Lastimosa hit his head on the floor following a collision with teammate James Laput in Magnolia's match against NLEX in the PBA Season 50 Philippine Cup.
Magnolia head coach LA Tenorio could only hope Jerom Lastimosa suffered nothing serious Sunday night, Dec. 7.
This as Lastimosa’s head hit the floor after a collision with teammate James Laput, who was being pressured by Brandon Ramirez near the halfcourt.
Lastimosa had four points and an assist before his unceremonious exit at the 5:46 mark of the second period.
The Hotshots still went on to drub erstwhile co-leader NLEX, 98-82, in their PBA Season 50 Philippine Cup match at the Ynares Sports Center in Montalban.
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After Rain or Shine's 90-84 victory over another fellow pacesetter in Converge later in the night, Magnolia rose to a share of third with the Road Warriors and the FiberXers with their identical 6-3 slates.
“Protocol for concussion, 24 or 48 hours yata,” said Tenorio when asked about Lastimosa during the post-game press conference.
“Hopefully, wala namang any serious na maging result. We’re praying the result will be negative and clear kung ano mang procedure, CT scan or MRI.”
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Magnolia is right in the thick of the fight for a Top Four finish that comes with a twice-to-beat advantage in the quarterfinals.
To finish the elimination round stronger, it goes without saying Tenorio would need the spitfire guard to be at full strength.
Fortunately for Tenorio, the Hotshots will not play until Dec. 15 when they square off against now solo leader Elasto Painters at the Khalifa Sports City Stadium in Bahrain.
“Jerom is a big factor for our team. So we're praying for that (negative results),” said the rookie mentor.
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Like most sportswriters, Jan Ballesteros once dreamed of becoming a professional hooper. But he learned the hard way that it’s not for everyone.
He continues to be involved in the sport he loves, but this time as a member of the PBA Press Corps. Aside from primarily covering the PBA, he is also assigned to cover Gilas Pilipinas.