MANILA, Philippines – Marcio Lassiter caught fire early as San Miguel won without June Mar Fajardo for the first time in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup after a 124-116 win over NLEX at the Mall of Asia Arena on Sunday, October 23.

Lassiter unloaded 18 of his 22 points in the opening quarter, allowing the Beermen to notch a lead as big as 15 points before they fended off the Road Warriors’ late comeback to snap a two-game skid and improve to 2-3.

The absence of Fajardo caused by a throat injury resulted in San Miguel losing back-to-back games to Bay Area and Converge.

But the Beermen proved they are gradually adjusting to playing without the six-time PBA MVP as they seized a 43-35 lead at the end of the first quarter, where Lassiter shot a sizzling 6-of-7 clip from deep.

Although Lassiter cooled down in the next three quarters, import Devon Scott and Vic Manuel picked up where their teammate left off.

Scott finished with a team-high 26 points on top of 19 rebounds, 7 assists, and 2 steals as he and Manuel steadied the ship for San Miguel after NLEX got within a single possession in the final salvo.

The Road Warriors cut their deficit to 109-112 off an Earl Clark triple, but Scott and Manuel scored 4 points each in the win-clinching 12-5 run.

Manuel provided spark off the bench with 22 points, 3 rebounds, and 3 assists, CJ Perez chimed in 16 points and 6 rebounds, while Jericho Cruz added 15 points.

Mo Tautuaa added 12 points as the Beermen put to waste a monster outing from Clark, the former NBA player who put the Road Warriors on his back with 40 points, 25 rebounds, 5 assists, and 4 blocks.

Those numbers, though, were not enough as NLEX fell to 3-3.

Justin Chua and Don Trollano chimed in 23 and 21 points, respectively, in the loss.

The Scores

San Miguel 124 – Scott 26, Lassiter 22, Manuel 22, Perez 16, Cruz 15, Perez 14, Herndon 6, Ross 3, Enciso 0, Brondial 0.

NLEX 116 – Clark 40, Chua 23, Trollano 21, Nieto 12, Alas 10, Fonacier 3, Miranda 3, Varilla 2, Ganuelas-Rosser 2, Rosales 0.

Quarters: 43-35, 66-57, 95-90, 124-116.

– Rappler.com