LASSITER SAYS KEY TO UNBEATEN RUN IS BEERMEN STAYING HEALTHY
Marcio Lassiter has been in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) for a long time to know that winning streaks, while pleasant, could also be dangerously intoxicating.
That is why on the heels of yet another cutthroat victory, the San Miguel sniper warned about getting too caught up about the unbeaten run his squad is currently on in the Philippine Cup eliminations.
“It’s always great to win games, you know,” the 13-year veteran told the Inquirer on Sunday night, shortly after the vaunted club sent one of the tournament’s surprise packages, NorthPort, crashing back to reality with a loud thud after a 120-100 ripping at PhilSports Arena in Pasig City.
“But I think it is important that we keep playing our best games as the playoffs are about to start,” he went on.
Marcio, who finished with 14 points built around four triples and moved up to the No. 4 spot of the league’s alltime list of three-pointers made with 1,197, said that it is paramount for the defending champions to strike a balance between playing splendidly while ensuring they steer away from injuries—especially with how their remaining games are spread out.
“I think we’re going through a back-to-back-to-back? We’ll also have an out-of-town, too. So while we want to be playing our best basketball throughout, we also want to stay as healthy as we can,” he said.
Last four games
San Miguel, which has been perfect throughout their seven games in the PBA’s crown jewel tournament, battles its corporate sibling and another streaking club in Magnolia on Friday. The Beermen will have to set their sights on NLEX in a match set on Sunday before taking some sort of break ahead of duels against teams scurrying to get back into the playoff picture: Blackwater on May 1 and then Meralco on May 4.
“If we can do those two things, then that should put us in a position to make an intense run in the playoffs,” said Lassiter.
Hands down the most dominant franchise throughout the league’s rich history with 29 crowns, San Miguel has been invincible throughout this edition of the All-Filipino all thanks to its outrageously talented roster.
Mo Tautuaa, Don Trollano, Terrence Romeo, Vic Manuel, Jericho Cruz, Jeron Teng and Simon Enciso, starters for their previous clubs in the past, make up the team’s second unit. That depth has given San Miguel a wealth of firepower that has been unmatched throughout this conference.
And Lassiter knows it would be a shame if some of those other weapons get shelved just when it matters most.