Lassiter, Perez hit timely triples as San Miguel escapes Magnolia

Marcio Lassiter and CJ Perez knocked down three clutch triples in the endgame to lift San Miguel to an 85-78 win over Magnolia as they arrested a two-game skid in the PBA Season 49 Commissioner's Cup on Sunday at the Ynares Center Antipolo. 

Down two in the final 2:29 of the fourth period, a travelling violation called on Jabari Narcis was overturned and set the stage for Lassiter's triple over Calvin Abueva, giving San Miguel a 77-76 lead. 

Ricardo Ratliffe then turned the ball over, leading to another off-balanced three-pointer from Lassiter that made it an 80-76 cushion for the reigning champions with 51 ticks left. 

Mark Barroca would score a quick layup to trim the deficit to just two, but a dagger trey from Perez sealed it for the Beermen, who were coming off a pair of tough losses to Eastern and Barangay Ginebra. 

Perez led the offense for the struggling Beermen with a double-double of 23 points and 10 assists alongside six rebounds, four steals, and one block while Narcis finished with a double-double as well, dropping 18 markers and 23 boards laced with two blocks. 

San Miguel has improved to 4-4 while the Hotshots dropped to 3-6. 

Ratliffe paced Magnolia with 24 points, including nine in the final frame, while also grabbing 15 rebounds, two assists, one steal, and one block as Mark Barroca churned out 13 markers, six dimes, and four boards. 

Scores:

San Miguel 85 – Perez 23, Narcis 18, Tiongson 13, Fajardo 13, Cruz 10, Lassiter 8, Ross 0, Brondial 0, Trollano 0, Cahilig 0.

Magnolia 78 – Ratliffe 24, Barroca 13, Lucero 9, Lasimosa 9, Sangalang 6, Dela Rosa 4, Abueva 4, Alfaro 4, Ahanmisi 3, Balanza 2, Dionisio 0, Laput 0.

Quarters: 20-17, 40-29, 60-60, 85-78.

—JKC, GMA Integrated News