Beermen win makes Marcio’s night special

Marcio Lassiter had a magical night when he emerged as the all-time three-point leader during San Miguel Beer’s 131-82 demolition of Barangay Ginebra in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Governors’ Cup.

Beermen coach Jorge Gallent, however, stressed that Lassiter didn’t want the special occasion to be all about him.

Lassiter nailed the third of his six three-pointers in the 7:10 mark of the first quarter to shatter the record of Alapag of 1,250. He ended the night with 1,254 made treys.

“We just wanted to help Marcio get this one off his back. I’m very happy for him. I’m very blessed to be his coach,” Gallent said, stressing that Lassiter wanted to break the standing three-point record previously held by Jimmy Alapag on a winning note.

“When Marcio talked to us, he said, ‘even if I break this, it’s going to be useless if we lose the game.’ Everybody was pumped up with his pep talk.”

‘We just wanted to help Marcio get this one off his back.’

True enough, the Beermen refused to spoil Lassiter’s special night as eight-time PBA Most Valuable Player June Mar Fajardo dominated with a double-double output of 24 points and 17 rebounds while CJ Perez scored 22 points and six assists.

Lassiter, a 10-time PBA champion with the Beermen, said he was grateful to his teammates for helping him reach the elusive record of his career on a winning note.

“Coach Jorge is a tremendous coach, giving me the confidence every night to come out and showcase my talents. He’s drawing great plays for me,” Lassiter said.

“I’m just truly honored and blessed to be in this position. Words can’t describe how I feel. I’m just overwhelmed with a lot of emotions right now.”

Being the PBA’s new three-point king is another feather in Lassiter’s cap.

Before becoming the league leader in long bombs, the fourth overall pick of the 2011 PBA Rookie Draft is also an eight-time All-Star, the 2013 Comeback Player of the Year and a member of the All-Defensive Team, and a 2018 Mythical Team member.

Lassiter then brought his shooting prowess to Gilas Pilipinas, winning two Southeast Asian Games gold medals and an Asian Games mint.