Adamson’s Jerom Lastimosa was sent off riding into the sunset in an unforgettable way by his supposed competitors as he bids his UAAP career goodbye. 

At the last second of their rubber match for the last UAAP Season 86 Final Four seat on Wednesday, Blue Eagles rookie Kyle Gambler “passed” the ball to Lastimosa who took his final shot from range in the collegiate ranks to the delight of the Adamson faithful. 

Ateneo claimed the most lopsided playoff win, 70-48, against Adamson and maintained a 20-point lead at the buzzer which prompted the gesture. 

“I think Jerom has been a wonderful servant of UAAP basketball or Philippine basketball in general. When you have a 20 point-lead, who cares about three points? If we can make a gesture to a guy that maybe saying iconic is a bit much, currently he’s iconic of outstanding players that UAAP has generated. We remember back to last year when Zavier (Lucero) was able to come in with a torn ACL and shot free throws, I think that actually shows respect for the game,” said Baldwin. 

“Because these are people not unlike Nash (Racela), not unlike myself, not unlike the referees, who are true servants of the game. Our job is to serve the players. Our job is to make the plain experience fruitful, enjoyable, competitive, and fun,” he added. 

“When you have an opportunity to make such a (gesture), it costs us nothing. But it gave Jerom a moment that he might not otherwise have had in front of his fans and for a salute as he rode off into the sunset, it cost us nothing. More than happy to do that. And I was proud of my players for assisting him at that moment.”

The 5-foot-11 combo guard had to abruptly end his final year in the UAAP earlier than expected due to a full ACL tear he sustained in the middle of the season. 

Lastimosa played the last 23 seconds of the second quarter and went back to the court with less than two minutes left in the game and shot a couple of missed triples before knocking out his final attempt with an Ateneo assist. 

“’Yon lang hindi ko makakalimutan na moment kasi yun ang pinaka-last shot ko sa UAAP,” Lastimosa simply said. 

Although it didn’t go the way Lastimosa would have wanted, the gesture proved to be unforgettable.