Marcio Lassiter sparked the third-quarter explosion as San Miguel blasted the luckless Converge, 112-103, to book a quarterfinal spot in the PBA Season 48 Philippine Cup, Friday evening at the Philsports Arena in Pasig.
The veteran marksman scored 17 of his 19 points in the said period, where the Beermen overwhelmed the opposition by pouring 51 points to wipe out an eight-point deficit and head into the concluding chapter in command, 94-70.
SMB would go on to stay perfect at 6-0 while dealing the FiberXers their eighth loss in as many outings, virtually eliminating them from playoff contention.
“I was very hesitant in the first half and Coach had to give me a talk and say: ‘Hey, you got to take your shots because it’s not helping our team if you’re not gonna stretch the floor,’” said Lassiter, who shot 46-percent overall.
“That’s what I did. I am always confident in my shot. I just had to get it going, wake up, and that’s kind of what I did,” Lassiter added.
CJ Perez flirted with a triple-double as he finished with 25 points, seven rebounds, and 10 assists to lead the perennial contenders.
Trollano finished with 19 points and eight rebounds. Terrence Romeo made 18 points while June Mar Fajardo supplied 14 points, 17 rebounds, and four blocks in the victory that saw San Miguel lead by as many as 25 twice.
Their collective effort was more than enough to compensate for the absence of winger Jericho Cruz due to a left knee contusion.
The Beermen will return to action on Sunday, April 21, against NorthPort in the same venue at 6;15 p.m., aiming to stretch their unbeaten run to seven.
Wasted by the defeat, on the other hand, was the career-high outing of Alec Stockton with 36 points and six rebounds to lead Converge.
Justin Arana had 18 points. Bryan Santos made 14 points while King Caralipio added 13 in the loss, where the FiberXers wasted a 34-22 lead early.
Converge will try to end its skid against the 3-4 Meralco on Sunday as well in the double-header opener set at 3 p.m.
The Scores:
San Miguel 112 – Perez 25, Lassiter 19, Trollano 19, Romeo 18, Fajardo 14, Brondial 4, Tautuaa 4, Teng 4, Enciso 3, Manuel 2, Ross 0.
Converge 103 – Stockton 36, Arana 18, Santos 14, Caralipio 13, Maagdenberg 6, Nieto 6, Fleming 3, Fornilos 2, Winston 2, Delos Santos 0, Andrade 0, Ambohot 0, Zaldivar 0.
Quarterscores: 20-29, 43-50, 94-70, 112-103.
