The real Marcio Lassiter showed up just when the San Miguel Beermen needed him the most.
Seeing the presence of Arwind Santos, one of his former teammates from that fabled Death Five that enabled the Beermen in establishing a league dynasty a few years ago, and getting more support from his present teammates who allowed him good looks to the basket, Lassiter came up with key contributions in his team’s 115-109 win in Game 5 of their PBA Philippine Cup best-of-seven semifinals series late Wednesday night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Lassiter was one of seven players who produced eight points or more as he knocked in four of six treys on his way to finishing with 16 markers. His efficient shooting sparked the Beermen’s more balance production even as nine-time Most Valuable Player June Mar Fajardo flexed his muscles anew.
Slowed down by an aggravated injuries on both his shoulders, Fajardo worked double time and poured in another double-double showing. He finished with 21 points and 11 rebounds while CJ Perez added 20 markers, mostly coning from lane encursions.
Another solid contributor was Mo Tautuaa, who complemented Fajardo’s solid inside game with a near double-double output of 18 points and nine boards while the ever efficient Don Trollano, perhaps the league’s Best Sixth Man, added 13.
Still, Lassiter’s awakening opened things up for the rest of the squad and that spelled trouble for Barangay Ginebra, which is now on the brink of missing yet another finals stint. In last season’s Philippine Cup, the Gin Kings lost to the same squad in seven games.
Lassiter knows the importance of closing out the series on Friday.
‘It’s a do-or-die for them,” added Lassiter. “A must win for them to keep the series alive and we know how capable they are. We expect them to make some adjustments and we hope we can match their energy. We cannot allow them to get 44 free throws. We just have to play better defense.”
On Wednesday, Santos provided added inspiration to the Beermen and it had somehow affected Lassiter, who had just rediscovered his shooting touch.
“It feels great,” said Lassiter. “You have the guys who played so hard with. He and his family, we support each other. We played for the fans and yeah, we’ve got to get one more. I hope we can get it Friday so we can get some rest time to play TNT.”
But Lassiter also deflected credit to his teammates who got him more involved in Game 5.
“I’m shooting good treys overall. The last game I couldn’t get my shots and unfortunately, we lost,” said Lassiter. “I have to bounce back. My teammates were actually looking for me.”
