A fellow shooter’s wish
San Miguel Beer just earned the chance to repeat as PBA Philippine Cup champion, advancing opposite TNT for the season’s centerpiece championship.
And the veteran Marcio Lassiter is actually praying for the Tropang 5G to come into the best-of-seven series as a complete lot.
“I pray that he can recover fast, so he can play Game 1,” Lassiter told the Inquirer, referring to fellow gunslinger Roger Pogoy, who is nursing a grade 1 hamstring pull and is listed as doubtful for the series opener set on Wednesday at the Ynares Center in Antipolo.
That’s because Lassiter knows that iron sharpens iron.
“Any time you can compete at the highest level, that’s who you want to face,” Lassiter said. “I know both of us will shoot the lights out, give the fans a really great showing with a lot of bombs from beyond the arc. That’s part of what we do.”
Lassiter had his moments in the semifinals, showing why he will forever be known as one of the league’s most lethal shooters.
In Game 5, the former Gilas sniper waxed hot with 16 points built on four triples to push San Miguel Beer past Barangay Ginebra, 115-109, for a pivotal 3-2 lead. The Beermen would ultimately close out the Gin Kings in the next game with a 101-88 ripping where CJ Perez got off for 41 points last Friday.
Pogoy, meanwhile, had to watch their close-out game against the Meralco Bolts after the TNT forward had aggravated his hamstring the game before. It’s an injury that has hobbled the former Far Eastern ace since the last conference.
Coach Chot Reyes had said that they won’t be rushing Pogoy to return. He has other aces to depend on, like Jordan Heading and Rey Nambatac.
“Hopefully. But you know how it is with pulled hamstrings because that’s very unpredictable,” Reyes had said after sitting Pogoy out in Game 5. “It really is going to depend on how quickly he can heal.
“We’re not gonna rush him back,” Reyes added. “We’re not gonna rush him back and we’re going to play him only when he’s ready.”
Lassiter, though, is still hoping to see Pogoy opposite him in the rematch of last season’s all-Filipino conference Finals.
“We’re also there to help space the floor out for our drivers,” Lassiter explained. “With me, I do it for our big boy, June Mar. [Meanwhile] he’s one of the main weapons from TNT’s offense.”
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