The San Miguel Beermen were on the verge of falling 1-2 against the Star Hotshots with 13.6 ticks left, Wednesday night.
Off a timeout, Chris Ross drove through the lane but missed a floater with seven seconds remaining. Marcio Lassiter was able to grab the rebound and went for the clear out.
The 6-foot-5 sniper, even if he was just 1-for-4 from downtown — 47.37 percent for the series — and with Justin Melton smothering him, was able to make a stepback and throw up a triple that banked off the board and in to give San Miguel a 111-110 lead with 1.3 ticks left.
And as coach Leo Austria walked into the press room, he let out a strong laugh, trying to shake off the tension brought about by the thriller.
“Well, ang masasabi ko talagang swerte kami but ang swerte pumupunta pag magaling ang player, like Marcio,” an exhausted Austria let off.
Trying to make light of how lucky they had been, the four-time champion mentor shared that the 30-year-old Lassiter was probably just inspired by the win of the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday morning and had just been mimicking Steph Curry.
“I’m happy for him kasi alam namin nanalo ang Golden State.
He’s a big fan of Golden State and he’s taking a shot like [Steph] Curry,” the 59-year-old mentor furthered.
Still, Austria praised Lassiter’s presence of mind, which in his words was “like Steph Curry”.
“There are so many options. They were able to get the ball and the presence of mind of Marcio, alam niya na,” Austria remarked about Lassiter, who finished the game with 12 markers.
“He wants to win and he has the open lane. Even if they [Star] were in penalty, he still used that kind of shot, ala Steph Curry.”
