MANILA, Philippines—Marcio Lassiter is over the moon after San Miguel Beer’s latest championship.
But he is even more elated with how his teammates stepped up to fill the void he left.
“I’ve always had belief in everyone,” he told reporters in the din of celebration at Smart Araneta Coliseum on Friday night.
“They were tremendous, you know,” he said of his teammates, who finished off top-seeded TNT in six games, capped a 102-90 decision. “We needed all of that.”
“Whether it was one second, one minute or big minutes—everyone filled a void,” he said.
Lassiter hurt his left knee during the Beermen’s twice-to-win stand against NorthPort in the quarters. Shortly after his diagnosis—an MCL sprain—he was ruled out for six weeks, including the Finals.
The void he left looked even more gaping as his marksmanship shooting was sorely missed against a team that lived—and died—by the three.
The three-pointer emerged as a weapon of choice that shaped the race-to-four series. San Miguel and TNT split the first two games all thanks to their long-distance shooting before the Beermen finally expanded their rotation and made the most out of Christian Standhardinger and Terrence Romeo.
Lassiter, San Miguel’s premier sniper, heaped extra praise on Romeo, his younger teammate who he said greatly influenced the outcome of the series.
“I’m proud of him, man. He played so well. He had some great moments for us, especially in our Game 5. He came in, especially in that second quarter, made a lot of points to kinda keep us in the game,” he said.
“Throughout this whole series, he was really a huge spark plug for us. He really put a stamp on [Game 6], too,” Lassiter said of Romeo, who that night was crowned Honda Finals Most Valuable Player.
Lassiter said his knee injury did not dampen the joy he felt for his team’s success.
“I’m still a part of it just as much as everyone else is. And it’s just a great honor to even be in this position,” he said.
“It’s really a testament to how hard we work,” he added, stressing on how the Beermen climbed from the No. 7 seed to the top.