Lassiter heats up as San Miguel cruises to PBA semis

Photo by Tristan Tamayo/ INQUIRER.net

Marcio Lassiter had the hot hand early as San Miguel zoomed to the 2017 PBA Commissioner’s Cup semifinals with a 115-96 drubbing of Phoenix in their quarterfinal duel Tuesday at Smart Araneta Coliseum.

The second-seed Beermen hardly needed their twice-to-beat edge as the Fil-Am sharpshooter fired 13 of his 26 points in the first half and shot 5-of-10 from three and also registered four rebounds and three assists to push his side to the Final Four.

Lassiter’s scintillating shooting helped San Miguel establish a 28-point edge early, 51-23, before the Fuel Masters made a belated run behind Jameel McKay and cut the lead down to just 14, 88-74, with 10:55 left to play in the fourth frame.

Alex Cabagnot would have none of that, though, as the surprise Best Player of the Conference pacesetter drilled nine of his 20 markers to quash Phoenix’s rally. He also added eight boards, and six assists in for the Beermen who advanced to their sixth straight semifinals.

“We’re so happy with this win because we were able to meet the expectations of so many people and our management. They expected us to be in the semifinals and I have to commend all the players because they know what’s at stake in this game and they really wanted to make it to the semifinals right away,” said coach Leo Austria.

Import Charles Rhodes poured 14 points, 11 rebounds, and four blocks, while three-time PBA MVP June Mar Fajardo racked a double-double to tune of 15 markers, eight boards, and two blocks, punctuating the win with a slam dunk with three minutes left in the already-won game.

Chris Ross also missed out on a triple-double with 11 markers, 10 assists, and seven boards, to go with three steals for the Beermen.

San Miguel now awaits the winner of the Star-Rain or Shine series for its date in the best-of-five semifinals.

McKay closed his campaign for Phoenix with 20 points, 13 rebounds, and three assists, while RJ Jazul had 14 markers in the losing effort.