MANILA – Marcio Lassiter converted a go-ahead three-pointer as San Miguel Beermen pulled off a come-from-behind 95-94 win over Meralco Bolts in Game 2 of the 2024 PBA Philippine Cup Finals last night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Struggling with his shots all match long; Lassiter drilled a step-back three-point basket from an outlet pass by Jaymar Perez with 13 seconds left to give the Beermen a 95-94 lead.
The Beermen then foiled the layup attempt of Bolts guard Chris Banchero before Perez deliberately missed his free throws with three seconds remaining in the contest to secure the victory.
Lassiter finished with six points, on 2-of-8 field goal shooting, to go with six rebounds, three assists, two steals and a block as the Beermen tied the best-of-seven series at 1-1.
Perez led the way with 34 points, June Mar Fajardo had a double-double of 17 points and 13 rebounds, while Celedonio Trollano and Moala Tautuaa ended with 12 and 10 points, respectively, for the Beermen.
The Beermen were actually heading to defeat as they were down 89-93 after a three-pointer by Bolts’ Chris Banchero with 27 seconds left, but Perez responded with a trifecta from an inbound pass by Chris Ross to cut the deficit to 92-93.
Banchero had a chance to widen the lead for the Bolts but he split his free throws for a slim 94-92 edge with 20 seconds left, but the Beermen got a three-pointer from Lassiter to snatch a 95-94 advantage.
“We just picked up our defense when we were down by five points, and I think we have two to three stops, and offensively, we were just pushing the ball and finding the open teammate,” said Beermen head coach Jorge Gallent.
“A good shot for CJ to cut the deficit to one and a good shot for Marcio to give us this victory, so kudos to the two of them,” he added. “We just want to continue doing good on the things that we are doing good.”
Clifford Hodge tallied 25 points and nine rebounds, while Banchero and Chris Newsome added 16 and 14 markers, respectively, for the Bolts, which scored a 93-86 win in Game 1 last Wednesday./PN
BOX SCORE:
SAN MIGUEL 95 – Perez 34, Fajardo 17, Trollano 12, Tautuaa 10, Cruz 7, Lassiter 6, Ross 5, Teng 2, Enciso 0.
MERALCO 94 – Hodge 25, Banchero 16, Newsome 14, Quinto 9, Maliksi 8, Rios 6, Bates 6, Torres 5, Caram 3, Pascual 2, Almazan 0, Jose 0.
Quarterscores: 21-22, 49-48, 69-73, 95-94.
