Marcio Lassiter saved the day as the San Miguel Beermen survived the gutsy Phoenix Fuel Masters to open their PBA Commissioner's Cup title defense.
On the brink of defeat, the San Miguel Beermen clawed their way back up to open their PBA Season 49 Commissioner’s Cup title defense with a win on Tuesday, December 3.
Marcio Lassiter scored the go-ahead jumper with 2.9 second left and the Beermen erased an 16-point fourth quarter deficit to survive the Phoenix Fuel Masters, 107-104.
The PBA’s all-time three-point leader finished with 15 points, helping San Miguel shut down the upset bid of the Fuel Masters who dropped their third straight game.
Both squads traded leads in the final two minutes with Quincy Miller responding to a Tyler Tio basket to give the Beermen a 103-102 cushion as 1:04 ticks remained.
But Tio gave the Fuel Masters the lead anew, 104-103, with a clutch lay-up with 14.7 left to play to 104-103 that paved the way for Lassiter’s heroics.
San Miguel next faces NLEX while Phoenix is up against Barangay Ginebra.
The Scores:
San Miguel 107 - Perez 18, Lassiter 15, Miller 14, Trollano 14, Cahilig 12, Tiongson 8, Fajardon8, 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
Quarterscores: 28-29, 54-49, 71-80, 107-104