PBA: Marcio Lassiter caps record-setting game with near-perfect long-range stroke

Behind a fiery start, Marcio Lassiter got into three-point number 1,251 in just five minutes. PBA Images

By Ivan Saldajeno

QUEZON CITY—Entering Sunday night, Marcio Lassiter is a career 42.6 percent three-point shooter in the PBA, or by conjecture, he will likely make three threes out of every seven attempts.

Also, he only needed three long-range bombs to break the PBA record for most triples made all-time, which made San Miguel's Governors' Cup second-round encounter against Ginebra his golden opportunity to reset PBA history.

Lassiter indeed went for seven--actually eight--attempts on Sunday night, but he made more than three of them.

The six-foot-three gunslinger caught fire so quickly in his record-breaking performance at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Lassiter broke Jimmy Alapag's old record in style, going 3-for-3 within the first five minutes of the game.

"I honestly didn't think I was going to start this hot, but I talked to myself to be aggressive," Lassiter relayed what his personal game plan was.

"We got one to fall; you kind of felt like the next one's gonna fall. My team's looking for me."

His first two triples, which eventually forced a tie with Alapag at 1,250 made threes each, were off the Beermen's set plays.

However, already surprised he was on fire from deep, Lassiter decided to go iso in their next play.

"I think my third three was a heat check. I was just kind of in the moment. Just out of bodily experience, I just kind of screwed it up, and it was still good," Lassiter aired his thoughts on that record-shattering three with 7:10 left in the first quarter.

He insisted, though, that his focus was mainly on the game considering all the playoff implications it had.

"[During the] first quarter, I really focused on the game. We had a big assignment tonight," Lassiter further said.

Lassiter finally missed one afterward, but he bounced back with three more triples in succession before sitting out the fourth quarter following another missed shot.

He finished 6-of-8 from beyond the arc for all of his 18 points, and as a bonus, the Beermen scored their biggest win ever since they co-founded the PBA in 1975.

Although the Gin Kings suffered their worst loss ever in the process, a good chunk of their fans joined the Beermen fans in celebrating Lassiter's historic shot.

He was glad that despite the heavy rains outside the arena, many fans still trooped to "The Big Dome" with the lower box section going SRO.

"I'm just happy for them," Lassiter further said.

While the final attendance crowd was not announced, one can argue that it can be comparable to the 12,478 fans who trooped to the SM Mall of Asia Arena for the La Salle-Ateneo game. 

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