ANTIPOLO — Jerrick Ahanmisi feels like a kid in a candy store with the amount of veteran presence around him now that he’s with San Miguel.
And that includes the PBA’s three-point king, Marcio Lassiter, whom he’s extremely thankful to be working with as a known shooter himself.
“I’m super honored. Super blessed,” he expressed moments after their 123-109 win over guest team Macau for a successful opening game in the Season 50 Governors’ Cup on Tuesday night, at the Ynares Center here.
“Because he’s the best three-point shooter in the league right now, right? It’s just something for me to keep learning on.”
It was just four months ago that both men competed for the Three-Point Shootout title at the PBA All-Star festivities in Candon, Ilocos Sur, with Ahanmisi coming from behind to beat Lassiter in a thrilling finale.
The vet was already in the lead with 25 points and had emerged as the favorite. But the former Adamson star rifled in 30, snatching away the crown and making himself a double champion after winning the Obstacle Challenge an hour prior.
Still, he expressed only profound respect for the league’s all-time leader in threes made, whose record will surely remain untouched for years.
(C) PBA Images
“I look up to Marcio all the time,” the 28-year-old sniper from Adamson University was quoted as saying back then.
“Even before I came into the PBA, I looked up to him as a shooter, as a role model.”
But as fate would have it, the former 10th overall pick found himself becoming teammates with his idol after Terrafirma traded him and Paolo Hernandez to San Miguel in exchange for Juami Tiongson and Chris Miller last June.
Now, he’s enjoying learning everything he can from Lassiter.
“I’m just gonna keep asking how he stayed that long, how he got to that record, how he’s number one. And hopefully I can follow in his footsteps,” he said.
The two finally got to play together in their first official game on Tuesday night. Ahanmisi showed promise, finishing with 16 points on 6-of-11 shooting from the floor. He also had four rebounds and four assists in 38 minutes.
Still, he didn’t feel satisfied with his SMB debut, and is hoping to grow better in their next games — which, interestingly, begin against the Dyip this Saturday.
“I think I did pretty well. But there are always things that I can improve on,” he said. “So hopefully the next game will be a little bit better. I can be a little bit more efficient, too, in getting my own shots and learning from my teammates.”
Thankfully, he has plenty of seniors to get some advice from — not just Lassiter, but others such as Chris Ross and June Mar Fajardo.
“They’re all really cool,” said Ahanmisi, who’s now playing for his third team in the league after starting his career with the Magnolia Hotshots.
“I’m glad that I got them as my vets ’cause if I’m having trouble with anything or if I’m making mistakes, I can go up to them and ask them what’s going on or where I can be better at. And they’re really open to helping me out.”
