CHICAGO - Bonded by trauma, their sleep probably haunted by yet another sorry, quick conference exit, things are looking up for the embattled Magnolia Hotshots.
Jerom Lastimosa, their prized ninth overall pick in last July's PBA Rookie Draft, is on the last stages of a full return from a torn ACL that required surgery on his left knee in December 2023.
Lastimosa had passed the required hop test that measured the stability and strength of his knees after months of grueling rehabilitation. He began training last Monday, doing mostly drills before taking on a weights regimen the following day.
READ Ratliffe reunites with Magnolia Hotshots in PBA comeback
"Sa (October) 30 ngayo mi clearance sa doctor. Final clearance na (We will ask for a final clearance from the doctor on the 30th)," Jerom told me via text message.
Once Dr. Jose Raul Canlas, a renowned orthopedic surgeon, gives the green light, the former Adamson star can join the team's 5-of-5 scrimmages.
CAUTIOUS BUT PAIN-FREE.
Meanwhile, the shifty point guard feels fabulous and has begun doing some light workouts.
"Okay naman po. Medyo ma ilang-ilang pa gamay pero wala ng pain," he said. "Nag weights and skills workouts na ako. Conditioning lang muna,mga footwork drills, etc," he added.
The Hotshots have always been bullish about Lastimosa's recovery, reinforcing that confidence with a three-year, rookie scale contract that they signed him with last August.
Even at age 38, Mark Barroca still got some spice in him as shown by the 8.1 points and 6.2 assists that he averaged per game in the PBA Governors' Cup. At 26, though, Lastimosa is the future and he will have the luxury of being mentored by a great playmaker and defender.
But wait, there's more good news coming out of the Magnolia camp that is nursing a six-year title drought.
RATCLIFFE, AKA RA GU-NAH, HAS LANDED.
Multiple team sources told me that import Ricardo Ratcliffe started joining team workouts last Monday at the San Miguel Foods facility in Pasig.
And he looks really "big and tall and in great shape," gushed one player upong laying eyes on the 6-foot-8, 240-pound specimen who recently retired from the Korean national team where he took in the adoptive name Ra Gu-Nah.
The early arrival allows the now 35-year old Ratcliffe to gel with his teammates and learn the team's system in time for the Commissioner's Cup that opens on November 27.
But the misery-infested Hotshots fan base can't help but feel cautiously optimistic.
Glenn Robinson III arrived in Manila roughly three weeks before the August 18 tip-off of the ongoing Governors' Cup that is now in the Finals stage. And despite averaging 24.2 points and 11 rebounds in five games, he was yanked.
The reason given to him, Robinson later told me, was that coach Chito Victolero liked Shabazz Muhammad more because he had "big games" in the PBA before.
What Victolero underestimated was the funk the late switch would throw into his team's chemistry. And sure enough, when Muhammad, who has an ACL tear history, got injured, two more imports came and the Hotshots were doomed.
Four imports in one conference is three too many and it speaks of the lack of reliability in the Hotshot's decision-making.
I think Ratcliffe will do well, but once the tournament starts, it might be a smart idea for him not to unpack.
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