Jadem Lazo is among the top scorers for Ateneo Sunday, Sept. 28, but he looks to contribute to the team in any way he can in their UAAP Season 88 campaign.
One-and-done recruit Jadem Lazo is not getting too caught up in his individual performance as Ateneo strung its third straight win against Adamson, 77-58, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Cubao Sunday, Sept. 28.
Lazo dropped 13 of his 15 points in the pivotal fourth quarter for the Blue Eagles as he made up for his measly one-point showing against University of the East the last time out.
He fueled ADMU's strong 26-10 burst in the frame that allowed the team to pull away after being just three points ahead, 51-48, at the end of the third.
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"I think, after the last game, shooting totals were frustrating for me," said Lazo, who struggled with a 0-for-3 clip in nearly 12 minutes of action in the Blue Eagles' second win against the Red Warriors four days ago.
"But all I care about is what the score is at the end of the day, and I just care about the win.”
Ateneo indeed crossed the finish line as a winner for the third straight time in as many tries for a solo hold of the top spot it earlier shared with National U and Santo Tomas, both at 2-0.
Lazo focuses on his impact on the team
Lazo converted six of his eight attempts on the floor while also swiping three steals and dishing out two assists.
He joined hands with Divine Adili (16 points on 7-for-10 shooting), Kymani Ladi (14 markers, five rebounds, two assists, two steals and one block) and Ian Espinosa (10 points) in delivering the numbers for ADMU.
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But despite being among the top performers, Lazo recognizes the contributions of each Blue Eagle to the victory, all of which help the team in achieving their goal.
This is where he would like to focus on.
Jadem Lazo atones for a mere one-point showing prior as he steps up on offense to help Ateneo take control in the fourth. | Photo: UAAP
“I just thank God for hitting those shots, but I just go into the game with the mindset of how I can impact winning. Whether that's putting the ball in the basket or getting steals or finding my open teammates,” Lazo said.
“There are guys on the team that didn't score a single bucket like Andrew (Bongo, two assists, two steals and one rebound) and Shawn (Tuano, four assists) but they impacted the game… So the mindset of how I can impact winning: I think that would be better for us as opposed to focusing on just scoring and individual stats," he added.
As for the Soaring Falcons, only one player carried the bulk of the scoring load, with Matty Erolon producing 23 points on a hot 7-for-8 shooting night from beyond the arc.
But that was not enough as AdU failed to follow up on its stunner over defending champion University of the Philippines in its previous match to slide to 1-2.
The Blue Eagles will clash with their archrival La Salle (1-1) next at the MOA Arena in Pasay Sunday, Oct. 5.
The Soaring Falcons, meanwhile, will seek to bounce back against Far Eastern U (0-2) in the other match.
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Luisa Morales is a sportswriter with a special interest in promoting women’s sports.
Her coverage highlights include the UAAP, PVL Southeast Asian Games and the FIBA World Cup. She also follows Alex Eala, the Philippine women’s national football team and mixed martial arts.