PBA: Petron’s Lassiter yet to reach full potential, says coach
PBA IMAGE/ Nuki Sabio
MANILA, Philippines — As impressive as Marcio Lassiter has been for Petron Blaze, the six-foot-three swingman has yet to reach his best form.
A scary thought for the rest of the league considering Lassiter has been on a tear as of late averaging a little over 18 points per game in the Boosters’ last three games.
The former national team standout shot 25-of-40 from the field and has hit eight of his 15 attempts from long range in Petron’s wins over Talk ‘N Text, Alaska and recently GlobalPort.
“This is more of a team effort. It’s never about one person,” said the San Francisco-born Lassiter, deflecting the credit to his teammates. “Thankfully, my teammates found me and they gave me the confidence to take my shots. My teammates made this possible.”
Boosters head coach Gee Abanilla is impressed with the level Lassiter is playing and knowing how good the 26-year-old star is, the rookie mentor expects him to raise his game even more in the following games.
“He’s such a good player,” marveled Abanilla, whose team finished the elimination round of the 38th PBA Governors’ Cup with the best record at 8-1. “He started slowly, pero I think he’s getting his bearings now.”
“In the coming games mas maganda pa ilalaro niya. He’s a very smart player,” added Abanilla. “His real talent is his basketball IQ napakataas. Sa defense nakikita naman ang mga ginagawa niya. Sa offense ang galing niyang bumasa.”
Lassiter, the Accel-PBA Press Corps Player of the Week, keyed in Petron’s 122-88 rout of TNT with 14 of his 18 points in the second and third quarter. He bested his solid outing with 19 points, 10 in the final frame to lead a 103-100 win over Alaska before netting 18 anew in a 101-90 victory over GlobalPort last Sunday night.
Despite all those performances, Abanilla thinks Lassiter still has so much left to show.
“I think he has yet to reach his full potential.”
