Marcio Lassiter's late jumper caps wild SMB comeback vs. Phoenix

Marcio Lassiter buried the game-winning corner jumper to complete a 107-104 comeback victory over Phoenix as San Miguel kicked off its title defense in the PBA Season 49 Commissioner's Cup on Tuesday at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.

The seasoned guard was at the right spot in the waning seconds, soaring for a long jumper off an inbound pass from the debuting Juami Tiongson and over the defense of Ricci Rivero to rescue the Beermen against the Fuel Masters.

That shot also sealed a 17-point come-from-behind win for San Miguel as they opened their campaign with a 1-0 card while keeping Phoenix winless at 0-3.

But Lassiter said it was their collective effort that made the comeback possible, giving credit to the new guys in Tiongson and Andreas Cahilig who both played a huge role in their fourth quarter surge.

"These guys are coming in and we're trying to make them fit, just like coach said. They had a few practices for us but we're doing a good job in trying to involve them and trust them," Lassiter said.

"That's the biggest thing in our team, trusting each and everybody and making sure that we play together."

San Miguel had a lethargic start, but the Beermen shook off rust in the fourth quarter after erasing what was once an 87-71 lead by Phoenix — a team looking to recover from two earlier losses to Eastern and Meralco.

And San Miguel had an unlikely hero in Cahilig to thank for that rally as the former Terrafirma standout hit three straight triples to cut the deficit to 80-87 before another three-pointer from him made it just a 95-98 disadvantage.

Tiongson then hit a triple of his own to tie things up as Lassiter showed his range by knocking down a trey to give San Miguel a 101-98 lead in the final 2:55.

Tyler Tio then came alive for Phoenix, sinking a tough layup then grabbing the rebound that led to another basket to steal the lead back for his team at 104-103 with just 14.7 ticks to go.

But the Phoenix defense was caught napping in the final play with Lassiter left open in the corner as Rivero's defense came late. Simon Enciso would convert two freebies off a foul from Rivero with 0.7 seconds left to seal the deal.

CJ Perez was also on point with 18 points while import Quincy Miller-Scott tallied a double-double outing in his conference debut with12 markers and 10 rebounds. June Mar Fajardo was limited to just eight points but grabbed 16 boards to help the cause.

In their SMB debut, Cahilig and Tiongson posted 12 and eight points with the latter also collecting five assists.

Donovan Smith did it all for Phoenix with 37 points, 15 rebounds, four assists, and two blocks while Tio churned out 23 markers, six dimes, five boards, one steal, and one block.

—JMB, GMA Integrated News