Lassiter hoping Beermen can build on success as playoff road gets tougher
Photo by Tristan Tamayo/ INQUIRER.net
Showing no letup in its quarterfinal tiff against Phoenix, San Miguel coach Leo Austria refused to let go of the gas pedal and kept his starters until the 2:00 mark of the fourth period.
With his first five on the floor, the Beermen kept their grip of the game in the extended garbage time with Charles Rhodes emphatically delivering a chasedown block on JC Intal which led to an easy June Mar Fajardo slam dunk on the other end.
“That was crazy,” remarked Marcio Lassiter of the San Miguel import’s late defensive stand. “I think it’s just something for all of us to be a reminder of. Never giving up whenever you’re on the court, and he showed that. He could’ve obviously let him go for a layup, but he never gave up on the play, and he was able to come up with a tremendous block. We just got to build on it and do the same likewise.”
But the win wouldn’t be possible if not for Lassiter’s hot shooting early, drilling three treys in the first half where he got half of his 26 points.
The sweetshooter was just glad to have been able contribute to the Beermen’s cause to start the playoffs.
“We’re glad that we were able to take care of business tonight. We’re able to set the tone and get some stops, set the defensive edge early, and we just carried it throughout the night,” said Lassiter, who ended the game with a 5-of-10 sniping from beyond the arc.
Lassiter, though, acknowledges that the job is about to get tougher and tougher as the playoffs progresses.
With that being said, he wishes that San Miguel can sustain the razor-sharp focus they had on Tuesday to the Final Four to finally exorcise the demons that have haunted the squad in the second conference.
“Every year is a new team, so I’m glad that we’re all together, healthy for the most part, and just playing together, be able to play our brand, and just coming out here and continue to play hard. We’re hoping to build on it for the next round, and that’s going to be even tougher,” he said.
