ANTIPOLO – Marcio Lassiter drained two critical threes in the final two minutes to send San Miguel to an important 85-78 win over Magnolia on Sunday in the PBA 49th Season Commissioner’s Cup at the Ynares Center.
CJ Perez also buried a huge three in the final seconds as the Beermen snapped a two-game losing skid, finally winning against a traditional contender in the Hotshots.
San Miguel evened its record to 4-4 while dealing Magnolia its sixth loss in nine games.
It was another disappointing finish for the Hotshots, who were leading by five points, 74-69, with four minutes left in the game.
Lassiter found himself wide open after the Magnolia defense collapsed on June Mar Fajardo, burying the three from the left side to bring San Miguel ahead, 77-76.
The San Miguel veteran nailed another trey from the right side with 51.9 seconds left to extend the lead to four.
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Lassiter actually struggled in the contest as he finished with eight points and shot 3-for-10 from the field, his two threes being his only hits from the outside.
Perez had a team-high 23 points and extended SMB’s finishing kick with another three with 25 seconds for an 83-78 advantage, essentially the dagger to the game. He shot 3-for-4 from threes and dished out 10 assists in the victory.
“We were able to arrest our slide because in the last three games, we never beat our opponent in the EASL and in the PBA,” said San Miguel coach Leo Austria, referring to its recent game in the East Asia Super League where they were routed by Hiroshima Dragonflies last Wednesday.
“This is a good thing for us to win against Magnolia because they are a contender to get into the top eight. This is a big event for us, or else, we will slide down to the bottom four,” said Austria.
San Miguel was already up by as many as 13 points, 42-29, but Magnolia came storming back and led by six, 68-62, early in the fourth, the biggest advantage for the Hotshots in the contest.
Jabari Narcis had 18 points and 23 rebounds, while Fajardo tallied 13 points and 14 rebounds for San Miguel, which will be facing Meralco in Candon, Ilocos Sur on Saturday.
Ricardo Ratliffe had 24 points and 15 rebounds, while Mark Barroca added 13 points and six assists for the Hotshots, who will now play resurgent Phoenix on Thursday.
The scores:
San Miguel 85 – Perez 23, Narcis 18, Fajardo 13, Tiongson 13, Cruz 10, Lassiter 8, Cahilig 0, Ross 0, Brondial 0, Trollano 0.
Magnolia 78 – Ratliffe 24, Barroca 13, Lucero 9, Lastimosa 9, Sangalang 6, Abueva 4, Alfaro 4, Dela Rosa 4, Ahanmisi 3, Balanza 2, Dionisio 0, Laput 0.
Quarters: 20-17; 40-29; 60-60; 85-78.
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