Marcio Lassiter did not allow one bad shooting night to affect his confidence heading into Friday’s Game Six of the 2022 PBA Philippine Cup Finals.
San Miguel’s resident sniper bounced back from a paltry showing two nights ago, tallying 22 points on 6-of-7 shooting from deep to lead his side to the 114-96 victory over TNT that pushed the title series to a Game Seven.
“Just continue to play my way, keep shooting the shots that I’m gonna take, and know that it’s gonna eventually fall, and tonight was the night,” he said moments after their campaign-saving win at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
Lassiter was a non-factor in Game Five as he only scored four points on a 1-of-5 clip, with all four of his misses from beyond the arc. SMB lost, 93-102, and went a loss away from kissing its title hopes goodbye.
The 35-year-old believed that he had ‘great looks’ that night, but it was too unfortunate, he added, that it didn’t find the bottom of the net.
“I looked at all the shots I’ve taken the last game, and they felt great. Just great looks,” he offered. “I just knew; it just didn’t pan out.”
But being the revered shooter that he is, Lassiter always knew that it would fall down eventually, and what better way for that to occur in a match that the Beermen needed to win to keep their golden aspirations going.
The 11-year veteran went on to produce his finest performance to date in the series as he was just averaging 11.0 points in the first five games.
“Coming into this game, it’s do-or-die. There was no tomorrow.
“So we all had to come out with aggression, being mentally ready, knowing that each possession was gonna count,”said Lassiter, who scored 12 of the Beermen’s 40 first quarter points.
Lassiter is headed to yet another Game Seven on Sunday, with SMB, of course, looking to regain the All-Filipino trophy it last won in 2019.
But before any of that, the eight-time PBA champion will fulfill husband duties first and foremost. His wife, Jerlyn, is soon to give birth to their baby girl.
“I’m just gonna take in the moment. Just be in the moment. It’s gonna be a very special day,” said the soon-to-be girl dad, visibly excited.
“Just praying for the special delivery, and everything to be good. Gotta take care of Saturday, then Sunday is a new day.“
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The second game of each PBA gameday is live-streamed on SMART Sports.
