Down big, SMB ‘showed fight of a champion,’ says Lassiter

There’s a saying that goes “come at the king, best not miss” and oh did Magnolia miss.

San Miguel was gunning for its fourth straight PBA Philippine Cup and the Hotshots were hell-bent on stopping the Beermen from making history.

And in the first three quarters of Game 5, it seemed that the Hotshots were well on their way to extending the finals to at least the sixth game.

Then the fourth quarter rolled in, then the first overtime, then the second, and the Hotshots realized that they were in a world of trouble.

The Beermen went on to win, 108-99, and continue their reign yet again.

“This was the fight of a champion, we were relentless, we never gave up,” said shooting guard Marcio Lassiter Friday at Mall of Asia Arena. “We just showed how we are as a championship team.”

San Miguel fell behind by as much as 23, 71-48, but the only thing that the deficit did to the Beermen was force the kings to come down from their throne and quell whatever rebellion the Hotshots tried to concoct.

The Beermen first displayed their kingly poise in the fourth quarter, outscoring the Hotshots 26-12 in the final 12 minutes of regulation with 2013 MVP Arwind Santos drilling a clutch triple that tied the game at 86 with 19.5 seconds left in the period.

After the first overtime ended at 94-94, San Miguel unleashed its full might.

San Miguel outscored the Hotshots, 14-5, in the final five minutes  to win its 25th title.

”We really had to fight for this one and it was hard,” said Lassiter, who had 16 points, four assists, and two steals. “We didn’t want to give them any momentum and we all felt like we can win the game because 24 minutes is a lot of time and anything can happen.”

“We want to show to everyone we will fight and win the game.”