Jojo Lastimosa’s last shot

I first met Jojo Lastimosa when I entered college at the Ateneo de Manila. He was the Blue Eagle who could really fly. He had the trademark thunder thighs that could probably have propelled him to the moon if he so desired, and a Prince Valiant hairstyle that pre-dates his now-familiar spiked ’do. He was a soft-spoken young demi-god from Cagayan de Oro, whose athletic abilities were the envy of everyone around him.

When Purefoods entered the PBA in 1988, they asked for a concession, that they be allowed to directly hire four members of the national team. They picked Alvin Patrimonio, Jerry Codiñera, Glen Capacio, and Jojo. The Hotdogs became an instant championship contender.

"The chances of someone like me from our place in Cagayan de Oro making it in Manila are very small," Lastimosa told this writer in an interview for The Basketball Show.

"I couldn’t believe that the life I have was shaped this way. I used to just walk from school to my house. That was my life."

Jolas made the national team, which he still considers the supreme achievement he has achieved in his gleaming career.

"I played behind Allan (Caidic) and Samboy (Lim). I wasn’t getting much playing time, but I was happy. Playing for the national team, having that flag on my jersey, was the ultimate honor."

"It’s not like today, where players are already hand-picked," he continues. "Or this coach has this group of players, this coach likes another group. Then, you had to go through open tryouts. It meant much more. As a pro, you get paid, you go home to your family, and you can act like it’s nothing. But playing for the national team, you’re playing for the whole country."

Throughout our conversation, I found myself sailing back through time with Jojo, to when he joined Alaska in 1991, the frustrations when Tim Cone first tried to institute the triangle offense (which took them two years to master), to his emotional transfer to Pop Cola in 2000. At 37 and a veteran of 14 years in the PBA, he was starting to feel Father Time tugging at his sleeves.

I was really determined that last season would be my last," he reveals. "Then we got Johnny (Abarrientos), Poch (Juinio) and Rudy (Hatfield). Ginanahan ako uli."

I asked him what was different about the game today. It’s been a while, after all.

"Aside from the short shorts?" he smiled. "I think the emphasis is more on stopping the other team now. And the physicality of it is such that you can’t just drive to the basket as much. We’ve pretty much become a jump-shooting league. I really look for the penetrating kind of game again."

"The players also are much more fit, and are more concerned with weight training," he adds. "I don’t recall, during our time, that we lifted weights as much. And there are many bigger players now."

For Jojo, who has earned many titles for Alaska and has been a perennial All-Star, the curtain began to fall again just as the season got under way.

"It started early this year, in an All-Filipino game against San Miguel," he recalls.

"My knee started to swell. And it wouldn’t stop. So we look an MRI (magnetic resonance imaging), and that’s when the doctors saw all the cartilage floating around."

After that, Lastimosa had a second operation for bone spurs in his right ankle, similar to Larry Bird’s problems with his heel. He hasn’t played since.

"It’s hard. It’s frustrating, especially when I see my teammates sweating and I’m not. Especially after having had this routine all my life."

Lastimosa still doesn’t know what he’ll do after he plays his last game.

"I’ll probably get away for a while, maybe about six months," he says. "Then, I still don’t know. One thing on my mind is to make the Players’ Union stronger and more active. Maraming player and nasasayang."

One unforgettable moment in his life was sharing the stage with his idols Atoy Co, Freddie Hubalde and others as one of the PBA’s 25 greatest players.

"That was a dream," he smiles. "I used to have a Crispa t-shirt, one of those promo items they gave away. When I first started, sharing the court with Atoy and Freddie, I’d tell them, "Alam mo, idol kita noong bata ako." And they’d say "Di naman. We’re not that old." I just couldn’t help myself.

If he heals well, he’ll be back for the Third Conference. But if he keeps playing with pain, he’ll call for the final buzzer, and take with him countless indelible, heart-filling moments from a lifetime overflowing with gratification.

"To achieve everything I have, from where I came from, is beyond my dreams. I never would have thought it would happen to me."

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Note: You can catch the full interview with Jojo Lastimosa on The Basketball Show this Thursday at 10:30 p.m. and Saturday at 6 p.m. on RPN 9, sponsored by Gilbey’s Gin, Hawk Bags, Duralite Sandals and Trianon.