Chico Lanete turned back the hands of time on Sunday evening at the Ynares Center in Antipolo, proving his worth for the San Miguel Beermen as he helped in the defending champions’ uprising against the Magnolia Hotshots.
The 38-year-old guard, who was even fielded by head coach Leo Austria as a starter, finished with 14 points on 50 percent shooting, on top of four rebounds, four assists, and four steals in the Beermen’s 77-76 victory.
But aside from filling up the stat sheet, Lanete’s biggest contribution came in the game’s closing minutes, when he hit a booming trey to lift the Beermen up, 73-71, from a one-point deficit — the shot that helped the Beermen escape with the win.
“Binigyan lang talaga ako ng tiwala ni coach. Sinuklian ko naman yun,” said the 11-year veteran of his performance.
“Pine-pray ko talaga last night na manalo tapos may bonus pa na Best Player, so thank God talaga.”
Even teammate Marcio Lassiter tipped his hat to Lanete.
“Chico today… He came out on fire and making shots, timing buckets,” said Lassiter of his teammate, whom he had already played with from 2012 to 2014, when San Miguel were still called the Petron Blaze Boosters. “So the emphasis was to guard us and left Chico open. So we were able to find him and I was able to at least dish out some passes so it was definitely a team effort.
“Each game is really a team effort win for us.”
Lanete has become the second player that the coaches have found effective to replace Alex Cabagnot, who is still on the sidelines due to a plantar fasciitis. First, it was Brian Heruela, who scored 17 against the GlobalPort Batang Pier last January 24.
Injuries are sometimes a blessing in disguise for the other players, as has been seen the storied franchise. But Lanete, along with his teammates, hopes for Cabagnot to return as soon as possible.
“Sa totoo lang ang laki talagang bagay ni Alex sa team,” said Lanete, who is now on his seventh team. “Itong binigay sa’kin na opportunity, grab ko talaga to.
“We pray na makabalik na si Alex para 100 percent na ulit lahat kami sa team.”
