Lassiter trey rescues Beermen over Warriors

MANILA, Philippines – Marcio Lassiter threw bricks almost all night long but hit a three-pointer that counted most as San Miguel Beer squeaked past NLEX, 94-93, to gain a share of the early lead in the PBA Governors Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum last night.

Lassiter muffed all his first six three-point attempts before nailing the last one as the Beermen averted what could have been a disappointing setback and caught up with the Meralco Bolts and the Mahindra Enforcers at 2-0.

NLEX went down to 1-1.

The Beermen blew away a huge 17-point lead in the third quarter but salvaged the game on back-to-back three-pointers by Alex Cabagnot and Lassiter in the last 27.1 seconds.

The Road Warriors led by five, 93-88, entering the final minute of play only to yield the game on crucial defensive lapses at endgame of the match marred by a heated confrontation between Asi Taulava and David Semerad, resulting in a double technical foul. NLEX team manager Ronald Dulatre was also slapped a technical in the incident.

“We teetered on the brink but survived, getting lucky with that Lassiter three-pointer,” said San Miguel coach Leo Austria.

“We designed the final shot for AZ (Reid) although he’s not shooting well. By instinct, he found and gave it to Marcio. Marcio himself had a bad shooting night, but in his final shot, he showed his shooting prowess,” Austria added.

Henry Walker led all scorers with 33 points that went with six rebounds, four assists and two steals but botched two potential game-clinching attempts in the last 20 seconds.

San Miguel got a chance to steal the game after gaining possession with 5.9 seconds to go.

In the nightcap, Blackwater outfought Star in a nip-and-tuck battle, carving out a 100-98 victory that somehow proved the Elite are ready to move on after the passing of Gilbert Bulawan.

“It’s good to have this victory after all that have happened to the team especially the passing of Gilbert. It took its toll on us,” said Blackwater coach Leo Isaac.

Meanwhile, Meralco and TNT Katropa stake their clean slates as they headline the Petron Blaze Saturday Special at the Big Dome today.

The Bolts and the Texters clash at 3 p.m. preceding the 5:15 p.m. face-off between the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters and the Phoenix Fuel Masters.