CHASE IS ON

Marcio Lassiter and Paul Lee are two of four active players with at least 1,000 three-pointers in their Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) careers.

And being two of the youngest from that batch and seemingly with plenty of gas left in the tank, there’s good enough reason to say that the two may end up jockeying to eventually become the league’s all-time leader.

“I’m not a big numbers guy,” Lassiter told the Inquirer, ahead of San Miguel Beer’s marquee date with Lee and Magnolia in the PBA Philippine Cup on Friday at Smart Araneta Coliseum.

“But I think since we are all in that boat, you know, chances of that happening could be a possibility,” added Lassiter, who has the inside track at becoming No. 1.

Jimmy Alapag, the PBA and Gilas Pilipinas great who is now an assistant coach of the National Basketball Association’s Sacramento Kings, still leads with 1,250 after eclipsing Allan Caidic, who had 1,242, in his final season in 2016.

Barangay Ginebra’s LA Tenorio is third with 1,218, but his production has slowed this conference, where he is averaging less than one made triple per game after making seven shots in his first five games.

Lassiter has made 1,197 triples in his career, overtaking Blackwater veteran and former league Most Valuable Player James Yap, who is stuck at 1,194 after being sidelined for the last two games due to an injury.That means Lassiter is 53 three-pointers short of the all-time record and he is currently making those shots at a blistering pace, averaging three makes out of a little over five attempts per game this conference.

Chipping away

If he keeps up that average, the former national program cornerstone could become the all-time leader in threes made in 18 games—as early as the next season or two.

Lassiter can begin chipping away at that deficit against Magnolia.The 7:30 p.m. contest, which comes after the 4:30 p.m. opener between Meralco and Phoenix, will be the first meeting of the sibling rivals since the Commissioner’s Cup Finals, where San Miguel defeated Magnolia in six games.It also comes at a time with San Miguel unbeaten in seven games and Magnolia bouncing back from a 1-2 start to win its last four outings.

And a shootout with Lee will make for an interesting subplot.

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Lee became the 10th player, and the fifth fastest, to reach 1,000 triples with his top-of-the-key shot in Magnolia’s out-of-town win over Rain or Shine in Tiaong, Quezon province, last Saturday.The following day, Lassiter passed Yap for his own milestone.

Lee is tied for ninth with Al Solis, but could quickly climb up the ladder given his consistent production and playing time as one of Magnolia’s starting guards.

“The game has been evolving into a three-point shooting league, everywhere in the world,” Lassiter said. “Chances are that down the line, someone’s gonna keep breaking it.

“But it would be great for us active players to be as close as we can. And I’m rooting for everyone,” he added. INQ