By REYNALD MAGALLON
Marcio Lassiter may have been missing all-game long but he’s still a player who cannot be left open from deep even in the slightest.
The veteran gunner was calm and collected as he sunk two booming triples to lead a late shooting display from San Miguel and take down Magnolia, 85-78, in the PBA Season 49 Commissioner’s Cup at the Ynares Center in Antipolo on Sunday, Jan. 12.
Shooting a measly 5-of-26 from deep through the first 46 minutes of the game, the Beermen suddenly clicked from the outside in the waning seconds to turn back the Hotshots, and most importantly, snap a two-game slide for an even 4-4 record.
SMB, who was actually struggling with its offense in the second half, was still down by two, 76-74, entering the final two minutes before Lassiter, the leader in three-pointers made in PBA history, seemingly took off the lid on the Beermen’s basket with a huge triple.
Everything fell for the side of SMB from there as a Lassiter tap in a rebound play translated into another back-breaking triple from the veteran gunner who suddenly put SMB up ahead 80-76 with 51 seconds to go.
As if that was not enough, CJ Perez also joined the three-point party and drilled in a dagger triple in the face of Mark Barroca to put the game to rest with 25 seconds left.
Lassiter, prior to the late explosion, only had two points and went on to finish with eight to help preserve a stellar showing from Perez, who had 23 points and 10 assists on top of six rebounds and four steals.
Import Jabari Narcis had 18 points and 23 rebounds laced with two blocks and two steals while Fajardo added 13 points, 14 rebounds and six assists.
Juami Tiongson and Jericho Cruz added 13 and 10 points, respectively, for the Beermen as they finally broke out of their slump after back-to-back losses to Eastern and Barangay Ginebra in the PBA and the continuous dry spell in the EASL.
Meanwhile, Barangay Ginebra vented its ire on Blackwater with an 86-63 thumping to bounce back from a shocking defeat against NorthPort last time out.
The Kings were dominant at all fronts as they limited the Bossing to a season-low scoring while displaying on-point execution on the offensive end to also give Jamie Malonzo a winning return.
Ginebra improved to a 6-3 record in tie with Eastern at third spot to not only inched them close to a spot in the playoffs but also to remain in the hunt for a finish within the Top 2 spot that merits twice-to-beat advantages in the next round.
The Kings tore the game apart in the third frame when they exploded for 27 points while limiting the Bossing to just 13 to turn a once close 39-36 lead at the break into a huge 66-45 advantage heading into the final quarter.
Justin Brownlee showed the way for Ginebra with 18 points, seven rebounds and four assists while RJ Abarrientos finished with 15 points.
Japeth Aguilar was the only other double-digit scorer with 10 points, but four other players finished with at least eight points with Maverick Ahanmisi chipping in nine and Troy Rosario, Stephen Holt and Malonzo adding eight each.