ANTIPOLO – Not often do you see jersey swaps in the PBA but Friday saw former teammates Marcio Lassiter and Alex Cabagnot do so.
Just as the final buzzer sounded to San Miguel’s Governors’ Cup win over Terrafirma, the two chatted at midcourt and proceeded with the exchange. They posed for a few photos, then hugged one another before rejoining their teams.
Alex Cabagnot and Marcio Lassiter trading jerseys after the game#PBA47GovsCup #PBAGameTayoDito pic.twitter.com/cOF2ThBKt5
— PBA (@pbaconnect) February 3, 2023
“Yea, we talked about it,” said the Beermen’s resident sniper of that moment shortly after their 122-102 victory at the Ynares Center here.
Lassiter said that it’s something he’s always wanted to do, especially with someone he considers a brother after countless battles and many championships they’ve shared together for a decade.
A highlight of their title runs was, of course, the unprecedented Philippine Cup five-peat from 2015-19, where the Beermen also etched their name in professional basketball history by pulling off the ‘Beeracle’ run in 2016.
Friday marks the eighth anniversary of that rare feat, and so the timing of the ‘Death Five’ members’ jersey swap couldn’t be any more perfect.
“That’s my Splash Brother,” said Lassiter, who first became teammates with Cabagnot after being traded to the club and then carrying the Petron banner in 2012. “That’s something we never got to do. We’ve played for so long together.”
“And it’s just one of those things where it would be kinda cool to do, just to always have those memories and say, ‘Hey, you know, we’re together as teammates’ so it’s kinda cool, a cool little moment,” he added.
Friday actually marked the first time that Cabagnot played against his former team and Lassiter was simply happy to see him again, especially after the long road to recovery the 40-year-old took following an Achilles injury.
“It was great to see him still healthy. It’s amazing what he came through, a really serious injury. It’s great to see him just fight through that,” he said.
“We know him, he’s a hard worker, so it doesn’t surprise me. We call him, like, Wolverine now,” the 12-year vet added with a smile.
Now that he has Cabagnot’s jersey in his possession, Lassiter is looking to add the other Death Five members’ unis to his collection.
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