SUMMARY
This is AI generated summarization, which may have errors. For context, always refer to the full article.
MANILA, Philippines (UPDATED) — Marcio Lassiter drained the go-ahead three-pointer with a minute remaining and the San Miguel Beermen escaped with a 103-95 win over the Alaska Aces to erect a 2-0 series lead in their best-of-7 Finals series in the 2015 PBA Governors’ Cup on Sunday, July 12 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Lassiter, who went 5-of-10 from long range all game long, buried the corner triple to break the 95-all deadlock and complete a 15-point turnaround in the payoff period for the Beermen after trailing by as much as 9 with 7:07 remaining.
“I think this game Marcio showed that he’s really the top shooter of the PBA right now,” said head coach Leo Austria, who shared that the game-winning play and the previous 4 before that were designed for Lassiter to get open in the corner.
The Beermen scored 25 points in the last 7:07 minutes and rendered the Aces scoreless in the final 2:39 of the ballgame.
“It’s a nice game for us, we thought we would lose this because of the adjustment they made,” Austria said. “Their intensity is too high and they tried to limit AZ’s output in the mid-post and they did a good job doubling him.”
Import Arizona Reid posted 37 points on 59% field goal shooting with 7 assists, 5 steals and a block, while Lassiter finished with 17 points, 7 rebounds and two steals.
Newly minted Best Player of the Conference June Mar Fajardo had a double-double of 16 points and 14 rebounds as Alex Cabagnot, who hit two critical treys in the fourth, had 13 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists.
San Miguel still has Alaska checked after they pummeled the Aces by 30 points in Game 1, proving that they can beat their rivals by blowout or by come-from-behind.
“I’m happy to have a game like this because that is what we need coming into the third and fourth games,” Austria said.
After Lassiter’s huge three-pointer, Fajardo iced the game with a pair of free throws with 38.1 left as this conference’s Best Import Romeo Travis missed a an attempt from downtown with 29.3 ticks to go.
After entering the fourth tied at 73, Alaska created some separation, 85-76, on back-to-back three-pointers from RJ Jazul and Calvin Abueva.
But Lassiter, who has sizzled from beyond the arc since the semifinals, sank a corner triple with 2:21 remaining as San Miguel inched to within 95-93 with over two minutes to go.
Arizona Reid, who fell short in what could have been his third Best Import plum to Travis before the game started, came up with a big shot with 1:27 left that knotted the count at 95.
Travis led 6 Aces in double figures with 23 points and 11 rebounds. Sonny Thoss added 14 points and 10 boards while Abueva had 13. JVee Casio registered 11 points as Chris Banchero and Cyrus Baguio chipped in 10 markers apiece.
Game 3 is on Wednesday, July 15.
Scores:
SAN MIGUEL 103 – Reid 37, Lassiter 17, Fajardo 16, Cabagnot 13, Ross 6, Lutz 5, Santos 4, Tubid 3, Semerad 2, Espinas 0.
ALASKA 95 – Travis 23, Thoss 14, Abueva 13, Casio 11, Banchero 10, Baguio 10, Dela Rosa 6, Jazul 6, Manuel 2, Exciminiano 0, Hontiveros 0, Eman 0, Dela Cruz 0.
Quarter scores: 28-24, 47-44, 73-73, 103-95.
— Rappler.com
2015 PBA Governors’ Cup Finals:
Add a comment
How does this make you feel?
There are no comments yet. Add your comment to start the conversation.