SAN Miguel didn’t disappoint as it made ‘The Marcio Lassiter Shooting Party’ truly special by inflicting Barangay Ginebra and coach Tim Cone their worst beating in the PBA Sunday night in the Governors’ Cup.
Lassiter became the league’s all-time leading three-point shooter in history when he surpassed former MVP Jimmy Alapag on the No. 1 list. Needing just three to finally become the new record holder, the 37-year-old veteran gunner finished the job in the first five minutes of the game when he went 4-of-5 from beyond the arc to complete the historic night.
His shooting eventually rubbed off on the rest of the Beermen, who handed the Kings one of the worst, if not the worst, beatings in franchise history -- a 49-point drubbing, 131-82.
Their fourth straight win put the Beermen on top of Group B at 6-2 and safely into the quarterfinals.
Phoenix, on the other hand, kept its slim playoffs hope alive with a 119-114 upset of Blackwater.
It was the first win of the season for the Fuel Masters, who remained in the running for a quarterfinals berth in the same group.
Blackwater’s second straight loss meanwhile, hurt its playoffs bid as it fell to a 3-5 record.
We take a look at the few takeaways at the Smart Araneta Coliseum doubleheader on Sunday.
1. CAREER 1,500 3s NEXT FOR MARCIO
Fresh from his record-making feat, Lassiter didn't skip a beat and said yes when asked if he'll be able to reach 1,500 three-pointers from the remaining years of his career.
The San Miguel gunner became the league's top long-distance shooter Sunday night during San Miguel's game against Ginebra where he shattered Jimmy Alapag's record of 1,250 threes. Retired star Allan Caidic is third in the all-time list with 1,242. Lassiter set his record in 537 games, the shortest period among the three. Alapag set his in 601 games and Caidic in 598 games.
2.DEFLATING LOSS FOR BARANGAY GINEBRA
It was a horrible night for both the Kings and Cone, who went down to their worst career loss in the league. The 49-point thrashing was also the eighth most lopsided in PBA history as per chief statistician Fidel Mangonon III.
The loss may haunt Cone for sometime being a coach who hates losing. The setback ruined the team’s four-game winning streak and derailed the Kings’ march to the next round.
3.SAN MIGUEL SHOWS REAL MIGHT
From June Mar Fajardo to Kyt Jimenez, the Beermen’s true potential as a team was on display in its blow out win over the Kings. The eighth-time MVP showed the way for San Miguel on both ends of the floor with 24 points and 17 rebounds. CJ Perez shot 22, Lassiter had 18, and just about every player coach Jorge Gallent fielded made it to the scoring sheet.
The Beermen's local players were so dominant that there was almost no need for their import, Jordan Adams, to do any lifting. He finished with a pedestrian 12 points and 11 rebounds.
4.BLACKWATER UNVEILS DEADLY BACKCOURT DUO
The Bossing lost for the second straight time and its chances of advancing to the playoffs were put in jeopardy. But if there’s a silver lining in the upset loss against Phoenix, it’s the promising potential of the Sedric Barefield-James Kwekuteye tandem in the Blackwater backcourt.
The two combined for 50 points and willed the Bossing back into the game from a 20-point deficit. They teamed up for an 11-of-18 shooting from three-point range in a scorching fourth quarter shooting as import George King’s guns went eerily silent. The two Fil-Am guards accounted for 28 of the team’s 36 fourth quarter points. Unfortunately,the rally fell short.
5. RR GARCIA RELIVING HIS UAAP MVP DAYS
Those days of glory may be long gone for RR Garcia, but occasionally he finds the time to remind people that he was once the UAAP's Most Valuable Player while playing with Far Eastern University.
At 34, Garcia has been turning back the clock by being a major contributor in Phoenix’s bid for the playoffs. He took over in the fourth quarter when the Fuel Masters were under barrage from the Bossing,
With timely jumpers and inside incursions, RR scored 16 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter. The win guaranteed that the franchise won’t finish their first conference campaign without a victory.
Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph
NOTICE ON UNAUTHORIZED AND UNLAWFUL USE, PUBLICATION, AND/OR DISSEMINATION OF SPIN.PH CONTENT: Please be notified that any unauthorized and unlawful use, publication, and/or dissemination of Spin.ph’s content and/or materials is a direct violation of its legal and exclusive rights to the same, and shall be subject to appropriate legal action/s.
