BASKETBALL may have been part of the family tradition, but Pamela “Pam” Lastimosa is trying to make a name for herself in another hard court.
Lastimosa is the niece of PBA legend Jojo Lastimosa, but unlike her uncle, she's opted to go for volleyball and is now a UST Lady Spiker.
Enthusiastic to try a different sport other than the one she grew up seeing, the 5-foot-8 Lastimosa first strutted her stuff with the Ateneo de Cagayan’s girls’ volleyball team in her second year in high school.
“I really don’t know how to play volleyball before. My high school coach just noticed that I have the size and then he encouraged me to practice with the team,” Lastimosa said.
Her father, Danny, who was a basketball player but backed out of the PBA draft to take care of their business, remained supportive of her budding career. Her brother Carlo is a former star of the College of St. Benilde basketball team.
It took her four years with the Ateneo de Cagayan before she decided to take her game to the next level.
She flew to Manila supposedly for a summer vacation, but was convinced by her aunt to try out for UST.
Fortunately, that worked wonders for her.
Lastimosa had to endure tedious training sessions under former UST coach Shaq De Los Santos and sit out for a year before finally making her debut in Season 74.
“I wasn’t expecting at all to be accepted in UST because I didn’t even play for Palarong Pambansa [unlike others]. UST was a good school and I didn’t want to miss the chance,” she said.
Coincidentally, the 19-year-old open hitter wears the same jersey number his uncle and older brother once used.
“Number six was the only available jersey number during my rookie year in UST. It was just funny,” she said.
As a newbie, Lastimosa made it a point to make the best out of her limited minutes, averaging 2.3 points per game off the bench.
Unsung hero
Whenever veterans Judy Caballejo, Maika Ortiz and Maru Banaticla could not pull their acts together last season, UST turned to its unlikely hero in Lastimosa.
And she made sure she never disappoints.
In UST’s first-round encounter against National University (NU) last season where it tasted a 16-25, 23-25, 25-23, 25-23, 13-25 defeat, Lastimosa was the lone player to reach the double-digit mark after chipping in 12 points and two blocks to carry the Lady Spikers.
Since then, she has become one of the focal points of UST’s offense alongside Carmela Tunay, where she finished with 82 points in 15 outings, including 13 markers from blocks to lead UST in the defense department with Ortiz.
Despite valuable contributions from these young players, the Lady Spikers still failed to enter the Final Four after absorbing a 19-25, 25-21, 16-25, 23-25 playoffs’ defeat also against NU last Feb. 20. It was UST’s worst showing in a decade after skidding to fifth place.
With Caballejo and Ortiz leaving the lair for good, the Education major, who became the newly-minted Most Improved Player in the Shakey’s V-League where UST placed third, is expected to help the Lady Spikers bounce back from an unlikely fifth-place slump last season.
“There were supporters who downed us because of what happened in UAAP last season. Next season, I will do my best to redeem the glory that UST had as a champion team,” said Lastimosa, who remained upbeat for the upcoming season.
And if there’s one important lesson the young Lastimosa learned from her uncle which is applicable not only to basketball but also to other sports, it is to trust her abilities once inside the court.
“When I play, I just think that I always need to step up for my team. I grab every opportunity to continue.”
