Jojo Lastimosa

Infobox NBA Player

caption = Jojo Lastimosa
Birthday = March, 10, 1964
position = Guard
height_ft = 6
height_in = 1
weight_lb = 192
salary =
team = Ateneo Blue Eagles, Purefoods TJ Hotdogs, Alaska Aces, Pop Cola Panthers
nationality = Philippines
birth_date = Birth date and age|1964|3|10|mf=y
birth_place =
college = Ateneo de Manila University, University of San Jose - Recoletos
career_start = 1988
career_end = 2003

Isabelo Lastimosa, Jr. (born on March 10, 1964), better known as Jojo Lastimosa and by his nickname "Jolas", is a former Filipino professional basketball player in the Philippine Basketball Association for the Purefoods TJ Hotdogs, the Alaska Aces and the Pop Cola Panthers from 1988-2003. He was also a former member of the Philippine national basketball team during the 1980s and 1990s. He also played for the Ateneo Blue Eagles.

His clutch jumper was the most feared in crunchtime situations and he was one those players who took his game from above the rim to outside in the perimeter.

PBL career

Jojo Lastimosa entered the league during the period 1985-1988 when Mauricio "Moying" Martelino was the PBL Commissioner as part of the Mama's Love franchise.

Martelino paved the way for the entry of Mama's Love, a franchise of International Pharmaceuticals Inc., which steered the league to its peak as Cebuano supporters literally jampacked the oven-hot Rizal Memorial Coliseum.

It was considered the golden era as unknown Visayan cagers Lastimosa, Elmer Cabahug, Larry Villanil and Zaldy Realubit, became the new heroes of basketball fans from the south as they pit talents against the so-called best from the collegiate leagues.

PBA career

Lastimosa was one of the original members of the Purefoods TJ Hotdogs franchise upon its entry into the league in 1988 as one of the illustrious quartet which included PBA 4-time MVP Alvin Patrimonio, many-time "Mythical Team" and All-Defensive Team Member Jerry Codiñera and perennial All-Defensive Team member, Glenn Capacio. He won Rookie of the Year honors and was named to the Mythical Second Team in the same year.

However, Lastimosa did not last long at Purefoods as he was traded to Alaska Milk in 1991 in a trade with Cabahug. At Alaska, his career further blossomed as he became an integral part of the Triangle offense. He skippered the Milkmen to the 1996 Grand Slam together with eventual 1996 MVP Johnny Abarrientos, Bong Hawkins and Jeffrey Cariaso, only the fourth Grand Slam in the league's history. During his stay with Alaska, he became a permanent fixture in the "Mythical Team" selection.

In 1998, he again led the Alaska team to the championship of both the All-Filipino and Commissioner's Cups together with Abarrientos, Hawkins and Kenneth Duremdes. The Grand Slam was then again beckoning but his inclusion to the 1998 Centennial Team (together with Abarrientos and Duremdes) that played in the 1998 William Jones Cup (Champions) and the Bangkok Asian Games (Bronze Medal) prevented the team from repeating their 1996 feat.

After a long association with the Alaska team, Lastimosa was traded to the Pop Cola Panthers where he formed a deadly triumvirate with Nelson Asaytono and Noli Locsin. However, they were not able to turn the tide for the then struggling Pop Cola team.

In 2002, Lastimosa found his way back to the Alaska Aces franchise where he ended his illustrious career in 2003. He now serves as one of the assistant coaches of Head Coach Earl Timothy Cone.

During halftime of their 2003 season opening game, Alaska retired Lastimosa's #6 jersey. During the offseason, Lastimosa announced his retirement after playing 15 seasons in the league.

During his entire PBA career, he was considered as one of the most unassuming but effective players in the PBA. He finished his career with over 11,000 points. One of the high points in his career was his near flawless game against Kazakhstan in the battle for third place in the 1998 Bangkok Asian Games where the Philippines captured the bronze medal.

Career highlights

PBA highlights

* Member of the 1996 Alaska Grandslam Team
* Rookie of the Year in 1988
* 3-time Mythical First Team Selection (1991, 1996 and 1998)
* 3-time Mythical Second Team Selection (1988, 1995 and 1999)
* 8-time PBA All-Star
* PBA 500 3-points club Member
* PBA 5,000 points club Member
* PBA 10,000 points club Member
* PBA 11,000 points club Member
* Member, PBA's 25 Greatest Players

Other highlights

* Member, 1986 Asian Games
* Member, 1987 Jones Cup
* Member, 1998 Jones Cup (Champions)
* Member, 1998 Asian Games (Bronze Medal)
* Member, PBL's Top 20 Players of All-Time

External links

*http://www.geocities.com/maong69/pba.lastimosa.html
* http://www.teenfad.ph/news/archives/why25.htm
* http://www.geocities.com/SouthBeach/Lagoon/8541/philbas.players_m.html
* http://www.geocities.com/SouthBeach/Lagoon/8541/philbas.1998jones.html
* http://www.mypbl.com/20PBLplayers.shtml