MANILA, Philippines – Marcio Lassiter saved the day for the San Miguel Beermen as they kicked off their PBA Commissioner’s Cup marketing campaign with a nail-biting 107-104 win in opposition to the Phoenix Gasoline Masters on the Ninoy Aquino Stadium on Tuesday, December 3.
With San Miguel trailing by 1, 103-104, after a tricky basket by Phoenix guard Tyler Tio with 14 seconds to play, Lassiter responded with a baseline jumper with solely 2.3 ticks remaining to present the Beermen a slim 105-104 lead.
That basket by Lassiter proved to be the game-winner as RJ Jazul’s inside cross to Gasoline Masters import Donovan Smith off the timeout bought intercepted by June Mar Fajardo within the subsequent play.
Apart from Lassiter, newly acquired San Miguel ahead Andreas Cahilig got here via the clutch as he scored all his 12 factors within the closing body, spearheading the Beermen’s comeback from as many as 16 factors down.
With Phoenix slowly pulling away with an 87-71 lead early within the fourth, Cahilig knocked down three consecutive lengthy bombs to tug San Miguel inside simply 7, 80-87, on the 8:21-mark of the quarter.
Cahilig didn’t cease there as he sank one other triple on the 4:39-mark, adopted by a three-pointer by Juami Tiongson in San Miguel’s subsequent possession to tie Phoenix at 98-all with 3:48 to play.
Additionally taking part in in his first recreation in a San Miguel uniform following a blockbuster commerce from the Terrafirma Dyip, Tiongson completed with 8 factors on 3-of-10 taking pictures, 2 rebounds, and 5 assists.
It was CJ Perez who topscored for the Beermen with 18 factors, whereas Lassiter poured in 15.
San Miguel import Quincy Miller and Don Trollano additionally breached double-digit scoring with 14 factors every, because the eight-time PBA MVP Fajardo was held to solely 8 factors on 4-of-10 subject aim clip.
The Beermen overcame a monster double-double outing by Smith, who produced 37 factors and 15 rebounds for the Gasoline Masters of their third loss in as many video games.
San Miguel additionally spoiled a powerful efficiency by Tio, who racked up 23 factors for Phoenix, with 18 of these coming within the second half.
In the meantime, the NLEX Street Warriors picked up their second straight win and handed Terrafirma its third consecutive beating following a 104-85 wire-to-wire drubbing within the first recreation.
Robert Bolick torched Terrafirma with a game-high 32 factors on an ultra-efficient 11-of-14 taking pictures, whereas NLEX import Mike Watkins sustained his dominance within the Commissioner’s Cup as he posted one other large double-double of 26 factors and 30 rebounds.
It was a candy victory for the Street Warriors as additionally they welcomed the return of Kevin Alas, who performed his first recreation again since November 2023 after recovering from a third ACL harm.
Alas got here up with 2 factors on 1-of-3 taking pictures in 10 minutes and 30 seconds of motion for NLEX, which hiked its report to 2-1.
Vic Manuel led the Dyip within the scoring division for the second recreation in a row with 22 factors, whereas Aljun Melecio and Kevin Ferrer contributed 10 markers every.
After suiting up for simply 1 second of their earlier outing because of again spasms, Terrafirma import Ryan Richards – who is ready to get replaced by Brandon Edwards – solely performed within the first half this time round, ending with 6 factors on a lowly 2-of-10 subject aim clip and seven rebounds in over 17 minutes.
The Dyip fell to a 0-3 card as they continued to overlook the providers of their newly acquired star Terrence Romeo because of an harm.
The Scores
First Recreation
NLEX 104 – Bolick 32, Watkins 26, Torres 15, Semerad 13, Rodger 7, Herndon 3, Bahio 2, Fajardo 2, Valdez 2, Alas 2, Mocon 0, Amer 0, Marcelo 0.
Terrafirma 85 – Manuel 22, Melecio 10, Ferrer 10, Pringle 9, Zaldivar 7, Nonoy 6, Richards 6, Sangalang 5, Olivario 3, Catapusan 3, Hernandez 2, Paraiso 2, Ramos 0, Hanapi 0.
Quarters: 27-11, 51-30, 75-62, 104-85.
Second Recreation
San Miguel 107 – Perez 18, Lassiter 15, Miller 14, Trollano 14, Cahilig 12, Tiongson 8, Fajardo 8, Cruz 8, Enciso 5, Ross 3, Brondial 2, Tautuaa 0.
Phoenix 104 – Smith 37, Tio 23, Perkins 21, Tuffin 7, Rivero 4, Jazul 4, Garcia 3, Manganti 3, Ballungay 2, Verano 0, Ular 0, Alejandro 0, Camacho 0.
Quarters: 28-29, 54-49, 71-80, 107-104.
– Rappler.com