Lassiter on Game 4 win: ‘This is what we’re capable of doing’
San Miguel Beer finally found what it had been missing through the first three games of its semifinals series against Rain or Shine.
June Mar Fajardo had his usual stat-line in the semis with 33 points and 16 rebounds, but the biggest contributions that the Beermen drew in their big win in Game 4 came from their other starters.
“Okay lang sa akin kahit mababa ang score ko, basta manalo kami. Yun ang importante,” said Fajardo, whose scoring and rebounding output were series lows. “Maganda yung nilaro namin. Nag-step up lahat ng pinasok ni coach.”
Fajardo’s teammate who stepped up the most was Marcio Lassiter, who set the tone for the Beermen with 10 of his 20 points coming in the first quarter. He went 4-of-4 from the three-point area and had seven rebounds and three assists.
“I got the first one going and just on to the next one. I was just looking for my shots and read the defense better,” he said.
But it wasn’t a two-man show for the Beermen, with the usual contributors Arwind Santos (19 points and seven rebounds), Chris Ross (13 points, five rebounds, four steals, and three assists), and Alex Cabagnot (12 points and five rebounds) finally making their presence felt to provide the support for Fajardo.
Also providing support for Fajardo were Arwind Santos, Chris Ross and Alex Cabagnot who all finished in double-digit scoring.
Santos added 19 points and seven rebounds while Ross and Cabagnot chipped in 13 and 12 points, respectively.
“We’re a strong team and this is what we are capable of doing,” said Lassiter. “When we put it together, it looks like this so we just got to keep on playing the whole 48 minutes and play strong defense.”
“We know this is a pivotal Game 4, a must win, so we just knew we had to play harder and get this,” said Lassiter. “We just got to work hard and eventually, things will get going.”
The Beermen go for a 3-2 lead in Game 5 set on Wednesday night at Smart Araneta Coliseum.
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