‘Super Marcio’ tips hat to CJ

Marcio Lassiter drained the most important triple to rescue San Miguel Beer from falling into a deep hole in Game 2 of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Philippine Cup finals over Meralco.

But the sweet-shooting guard deflected the credit in the Beermen’s 95-94 win that tied the best-of-seven series, 1-1, to CJ Perez for creating the big plays in prior sequences that set him up for the game-winning long-range bomb.

“Credit to CJ for keeping his head up and finding me in the corner. It would not have happened if CJ didn’t see me,” Lassiter said after San Miguel’s edge-of-your-seat escape Friday night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

The Bolts went up, 93-89, with 25.6 seconds left after Chris Banchero nailed a trey forcing the Beermen to sue for time. Perez then answered with a triple three seconds after, to make it into a one-possession ballgame.

After a Banchero split from the foul line, Perez found an open Lassiter at the left corner for the go-ahead stepback trey after getting his defender Bong Quinto flying in the air with his pump-fake.

“I think in the possession before that, we’re down four. CJ made a tough three in the corner that kept us still close. We knew we had to foul and luckily, he (Banchero) split,” Lassiter, who only had six points, all coming from the three-point area.

Lassiter’s trey, his 1,229th career triple, drew him closer in the chase for the second PBA all-time three-point field goal made, held by Allan Caidic (1,242). Jimmy Alapag holds the league’s most threes with 1,250.

“Coming down I was just thinking, if the shot’s there take it. CJ was even saying, ‘Be ready.’ I just knew I could get to my spot. Just read the defense. I had to pump fake to get open but I had a good look at the basket, that’s all I really needed,” he said.

Perez finished the crucial series-tying win with 34 points.

San Miguel will try to make it two in a row today in Game 3 at the same venue.

“We know it’s going to be a grind-out game this whole series. We can’t expect they’re just gonna roll over. That’s a good team that’s why they’re in the finals,” Lassiter said.

“It’s going to be consistently tough games here on out since it’s tied at 2.”