MANILA, Philippines – No wonder Marcio Lassiter continues to climb the PBA all-time three-pointers list.

Unfazed by his scoreless first half, Lassiter presided over a blistering third quarter to help San Miguel nail its quarterfinal seat in the Philippine Cup via a 112-103 win over Converge at the PhilSports Arena on Friday, April 19.

Lassiter missed all of his five field goals in the first half, including four from beyond the arc, before he exploded for 17 of his 19 points in the third quarter as he knocked down five triples. 

His exploits from long distance allowed the Beermen to score a whopping 51 points in the third quarter that swung a 43-50 deficit to a commanding 94-70 lead on the way to their sixth win in as many games. 

“I just told him to keep on shooting because his hand is a waste if he does not shoot that ball,” said San Miguel head coach Jorge Gallent of Lassiter. 

With five long bombs against the FiberXers, Lassiter moved just one trey away from tying Blackwater veteran James Yap, who has 1,194 career three-pointers and counting, for fourth place in the all-time list.

Jimmy Alapag holds the PBA record with 1,250 triples followed by Allan Caidic (1,242) and Barangay Ginebra stalwart LA Tenorio (1,218 and counting). 

“I’m always confident in my shot. I just got to get it going, wake up, and that was kind of what I did,” said Lassiter. 

CJ Perez paced the unbeaten Beermen with 25 points and 10 rebounds, while Don Trollano put up 19 points and 8 rebounds as they conspired with Lassiter in that huge third quarter.

Perez and Trollano dropped 11 points each in the third period. 

Terrence Romeo chimed in 18 points and June Mar Fajardo supplied 14 points, 17 rebounds, and 4 blocks to extend his double-double streak to 14 games.

Alec Stockton reset his career high for the second straight game by firing 36 points on top of 6 rebounds and 4 assists, but Converge still remained winless and fell to 0-8 to officially bow out of playoff contention.

The Scores

San Miguel 112 – Perez 25, Lassiter 19, Trollano 19, Romeo 18, Fajardo 14, Brondial 4, Tautuaa 4, Teng 4, Enciso 3, manuel 2, Ross 0

Converge 103 – Stockton 34, Arana 18, Santos 14, Caralipio 13, Maagdenberg 6, Nieto 6, Fleming 3, Fornilos 2, Winston 2, Delos Santos 0, Andrade 0, Ambohot 0, Zaldivar 0.

Quarters: 20-29, 43-50, 94-70, 112-103.

– Rappler.com