ANTIPOLO – Marcio Lassiter came to the rescue and saved San Miguel past Magnolia in a clash befitting of a Sunday night special; 85-78, to snap its skid in the PBA Season 49 Commissioner’s Cup at the Ynares Center here.
The veteran sniper delivered at a time needed the most, nailing back-to-back triples for the 80-76 lead with 51.9 seconds remaining before helping out on the defensive end in forcing the hard-fighting Hotshots to a costly turnover.
CJ Perez then made sure that his senior’s efforts wouldn’t go for naught, striking the dagger through a trifecta of his own to make it an 83-78 spread with 25.2 seconds left to play, which knocked the wind out of their foes’ sails.
June Mar Fajardo would settle the final count with a pair of charities with 12.6 ticks to spare and SMB would improve to 4-4 and stay in the Top 8.
But more than hiking their record, the win should give the reigning conference champions a significant boost morale. Until tonight, they were in the midst of a four-game slide, including their East Asia Super League matches.
“This game will give us a huge morale booster,” Coach Leo Austria said. “And they gave us a chance. Although malayo pa rin, it could help a lot.”
Perez led San Miguel with 23 points, six rebounds, and 10 assists, with his last one leading to that second three of Lassiter to complete the double-double.
Jabari Narcis made 18 points despite a 5-of-19 clip from the field but made up for it by hauling down 23 rebounds. Fajardo came through with his own double-double of 13 points and 14 rebounds, together with six assists.
Juami Tiongson also delivered 13 points on 6-of-9 shooting. Jericho Cruz had 10 while Lassiter overcame a cold start and finished with eight markers as these six players were mainly the source of SMB’s scoring output.
The Beermen now hope that they can put together another winning run as the perennial contenders take on Meralco on Saturday,January 18 in Candon.
“This win will be a good morale booster for us, giving us more confidence going to our next game against Meralco,” said Austria.
Ricardo Ratliffe, meanwhile, punched in 24 points and 15 rebounds to lead Magnolia, who fell to 3-6 following yet another collapse.
The Hotshots had already clawed their way back from a 13-point deficit and even took a 74-69 lead in the final 4:24, but could not hold on to it.
Now at 11th in the standings, Coach Chito Victolero and Co. will next face the streaking Phoenix on Thursday, January 16, at the Philsports Arena.
The Scores:
San Miguel 85 – Perez 23, Narcis 18, Tiongson 13, Fajardo 13, Cruz 10, Lassiter 8, Ross 0, Brondial 0, Trollano 0, Cahilig 0.
Magnolia 78 – Ratliffe 24, Barroca 13, Lucero 9, Lasimosa 9, Sangalang 6, Dela Rosa 4, Abueva 4, Alfaro 4, Ahanmisi 3, Balanza 2, Dionisio 0, Laput 0.
Quarterscores: 20-17, 40-29, 60-60, 85-78.
