With one flick of the wrist and the ball kissing off the glass, Marcio Lassiter came up with the most unbelievable shot to cap a mind-boggling end to Game 3 on Wednesday night that put San Miguel Beer right back where the Beermen were in pre-series predictions with Star—at the top.
Lassiter hit the marginal triple with 1.6 seconds left that gave the Beermen a 111-110 win over the Hotshots for a 2-1 lead in their best-of-five Final Four series in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup for the perfect ending to the high quality of basketball played at Smart Araneta Coliseum.
It was the kind of win that will give the Beermen all the morale boost and confidence they need—and the sort of a setback that could be enough to deflate the Hotshots—when Game 4 is played Friday night at Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay.
“One point (win)? It doesn’t matter. We’re one win away from another Finals,” San Miguel coach Leo Austria blurted out minutes later, aware that the Grand Slam run is still on track with two chances to nail a championship berth.
“I hope that we take care of business (in the next game),” he said in Filipino.
In the other Final Four series, the TNT KaTropa Texters take the first of three shots to nail a title series berth versus the Barangay Ginebra Kings at 7 p.m. on Thursday at Smart Araneta Coliseum in Cubao.