MARCIO Lassiter buried a go-ahead three-pointer with 13.2 seconds to lift San Miguel to a 95-94 win over Meralco in Game Two of the PBA 48th Season Philippine Cup Finals on Friday at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.
Lassiter’s stepback three gave the Beermen a one-point lead after a long, long chase, an opportunity opening up for the defending champions after Meralco guard Chris Banchero split his two free throws in the previous possession.
Banchero missed a lay-up with 3.2 seconds left, allowing the Beermen to avoid falling into a deep hole and levelling the best-of-seven finals at 1-1.
CJ Perez topscored with 34 points and put San Miguel in a position to essay a come-from-behind win by converting a three-pointer with 22 seconds left to cut the deficit down to one after Banchero's trey.
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The Bolts looked on the verge of taking a 2-0 lead in the series after Banchero nailed a three-pointer with 25.6 seconds left for a four-point Meralco lead.
Instead, Meralco will go up against San Miguel in Game Three in the hope of reclaiming the lead on Sunday at the Big Dome.
San Miguel coach Jorge Gallent said it was team defense that kept them alive in the game after being down, 86-81, with five minutes to play.
“We just picked up our defense coming from when we were down by five. We had two to three stops and that gave us our fastbreak points. Offensively, we were just pushing the ball down and looking for open players.
“Fortunately, the shot of CJ and Marcio entered and it was the same spot pa. Good shot for CJ to bring it down to one, and good shot for Marcio to give us this victory today. Kudos to the two of them,” said Gallent.
June Mar Fajardo had 17 points and 13 rebounds, while Don Trollano and Mo Tautuaa had 12 and 10, respectively, for the Beermen.
Lassiter actually struggled from the field, going 1-of-7 before that game-winning shot. He finished the contest with six points.
San Miguel spoiled the effort of Cliff Hodge, who scored a season-high 25 points. Banchero had 16 points, while Chris Newsome had 14 points for Meralco.
The Bolts had their biggest lead at 78-70 early in the fourth quarter on a three-pointer by Norbert Torres but the Beermen quickly responded with 10-0 blast that made the contest a tight one.
The scores:
San Miguel 95 – Perez 34, Fajardo 17, Trollano 12, Tautuaa 10, Cruz 7, Lassiter 6, Ross 5, Teng 2, Brondial 2, Enciso 0.
Meralco 94 – Hodge 25, Banchero 16, Newsome 14, Quinto 9, Maliksi 8, Rios 6, Bates 6, Torres 5, Caram 3, Pascual 2, Almazan 0, Pasaol 0, Jose 0.
Quarters: 21-22; 49-48; 69-73; 95-94.
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