Starting the training late didn’t pose much problem on the star-studded San Miguel team, which came out locked and loaded at the start of its title retention drive in the PBA Philippine Cup.
None among the Beermen were more focused than Marcio Lassiter, who came out with his guns blazing in leading his squad to a 109-97 triumph over Rain or Shine.
Lassiter knocked in 5-of-6 three-point shots on his way to finishing with 17 markers as the Beermen barely showed effects of rustiness in their first game back after winning the Commissioner’s Cup last month.
The Beermen started practicing late and had difficulty completing their roster during training, but the last four days of practice leading to their first game was intense, according to head coach Jorge Gallent, enough to bring the best out of everybody.
“I just want to be mentally sharp,” Lassiter told PinoyStep.com in an exclusive interview. “It could be (spill over) from the last conference, but it’s totally different now. We don’t have Bennie (Boatwright), a great import, and he does a lot for us and we know what he’s capable of doing for us.”
“Now, it’s really just all of us and we know we’re playing with each other for a long time, so it’s great to continue sharing the ball at a high 20s, then we’re doing something right.”
The Beermen are not just coming into this conference as a newly-crowned champions of the recent import-laced conference, but they’re also defending the Philippine Cup and with a healthy seven-time Most Valuable Player June Mar Fajardo and returning Terrence Romeo back in harness, the league’s winningest franchise has no plans of adding a few more to its collection.
Lassiter believes the key to another championship won’t solely depend on Fajardo, the league’s dominant force, but also on the rest of the young stars, including CJ Perez, who’s just coming off a breakout conference where he won both the Best Player of the Conference of the Commissioner’s Cup and likewise been named as Finals MVP when the Beermen defeated the Magnolia Hotshots in six games.
“CJ is getting back to the groove and he’s going to be playing in his top soon. That’s how good our team is. We just have to come out and be prepared,” added Lassiter.
