Player of the Week: Lassiter shoots SMB to 2-0 semis lead

Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net

San Miguel Beer gained a 2-0 lead in its best-of-seven semifinals series against Barangay Ginebra and Marcio Lassiter was definitely a big reason for it.

Lassiter scattered 25 points, including his team’s last six points inside the final minute, to lift the Beermen over the Gin Kings, 104-102, in overtime of Game 2 on Sunday night. His tip-in off a miss by June Mar Fajardo with 3.2 seconds left won it for SMB.

The hot-shooting swingman, who hit four 3-pointers, didn’t just provide the scoring for San Miguel as he also collected eight rebounds, four assists and three steals.

“Every game is gonna be hard and we came out working extremely hard,” Lassiter, who was named PBA Press Corps Player of the Week, told reporters after Game 2. “We give credit to Ginebra for they played extremely well in the first half. A lot of guys stepped up for them and it took us a while to figure out what they’re doing.”

“I just want to read the defense of Ginebra. I always want to play well and I want to continue to play team ball, just play our brand of San Miguel ball,” he said. “We know we have a great match over at June Mar (Fajardo) in the post so we want to continue attacking, and just play and keep being aggressive.”

The 30-year-old also waxed hot in the semis opener with five triples en route to a 17-point outing, helping the Beermen take a 102-90 win despite having a quiet night from Fajardo. He also had five rebounds and five assists in that duel.

Lassiter hopes to continue his impressive play throughout the series starting in Game 3 on Tuesday at Mall of Asia Arena.