Lassiter 3 saves San Miguel, helps Beermen close in on finals berth

Marcio Lassiter's heroics in the dying seconds of Game 3
pushed San Miguel on the brink of a second straight finals
appearance. Courtesy of the PBA Media Bureau

Marcio Lassiter buried a 3-pointer with 1.6 seconds left to help San Miguel beat Star 111-110 in the semifinals of the PBA Commissioner's Cup at Araneta Coliseum on Wednesday.

The Beermen now hold a 2-1 lead in their best-of-5 series and have a chance to move on to the finals with a victory on Friday.

With 13 seconds left and trailing 110-108, San Miguel scrambled to find a decent look at the basket as time wound down. A Chris Ross miss led to a chase for the loose ball that was tapped out by Star's Ricardo Ratliffe and ended up in Lassiter's hands.

Unfazed by Justin Melton's glove-like defense, Lassiter hit the game-winner, spoiling a phenomenal game by Ratliffe, who almost singlehandedly rallied Star from 9 points down in the 4th quarter.

"Alam naman nating nanalo ang Golden State (Marcio's) a big fan of Golden State and he's taking a shot like Steph Curry. We're very proud of him," San Miguel head coach Leo Austria said.

"It's a team effort, especially Charles Rhodes who really worked hard from start to finish and was able to manage his foul trouble."

Source:  http://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/06/14/17/pba-lassiter-3-saves-san-miguel-helps-beermen-close-in-on-finals-berth