By NIKOLE JAVIER
It’s hard to look away the personal achievements made by Marcio Lassiter and June Mar Fajardo despite San Miguel’s dominant win over Rain or Shine in their PBA Philippine Cup best-of-seven semifinal clash on Sunday, May 19.
Lassiter and Fajardo moved up on the list of all-time three-points made and shotblocks, respectively, following individual brilliance in their 106-89 Game 2 win.
The 37-year-old Lassiter finally dislodged Ginebra star LA Tenorio for No. 3 spot after going three-of-six from the deep for an overall tally of 1,219 – one more than Tenorio.
By halftime, Lassiter already matched Tenorio’s record after firing two triples in the second quarter.
With the Beermen comfortably ahead 101-86 lead, Lassiter went for it, burying a trey from the left corner with 2:19 to go to make it official.
“Can’t be more thankful to be blessed with the opportunity to play at a high level and staying healthy for the most part. And thank my teammates, as you know, they are the ones who spot me, so for them just trusting me all throughout the years and coaches,” said Lassiter.
“Just to be in the same breath as LA, he’s one of the true legends, the greatest point guard, I believe, in the PBA. When I came into the league, I looked up to him, so it’s just great to be in the same sentence as him. It’s truly an honor, hopefully, I can just keep it going. See how it goes each game,” he added.
Tenorio, for his part, barely saw action in Ginebra’s 103-91 defeat against Meralco in the other semifinal pairing where he wound up with just one free throw made.
Lassiter’s next target is to surpass the records of Jimmy Alapag (1,250) and Allan Caidic (1,242).
It’s not yet on his mind for now as he is fully focused on helping San Miguel reach the finals.
“The next two are great legends, obviously, one has the record and the second I feel is the GOAT (greatest of all time) of shooters. It’s just unbelievable what he’s done. When that time comes, it will be a special moment for me,” he added.
Apart from Lassiter, seven-time PBA MVP Fajardo was definitely not so bad himself as he showed up with another double-double outing of 22 points and 10 blocks to steer San Miguel to the victory.
The 6-foot-10 big man asserted his defensive power after becoming the No. 11 player in the all-time shotblocks list.
And counting at this point.
