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PBA PICTURES
ANTIPOLO CITY – The jersey exchange ritual has been going on for a long time in the Philippine Basketball Association.
But nothing like that was shown by Marcio Lassiter of San Miguel Beer and Alex Cabagnot of Terrafirma on Friday at the Ynares Center here.
“This is ‘Splash Brother,'” a smiling Lassiter told reporters as he exited the hilltop arena, helping the Beermen to a 122-102 win over Dyip and the club’s third straight Governors Cup.
“It’s something we’ve never done. We’ve been playing together for a long time and it’s just one of those things that we’re going to do,” said the 35-year-old sharpshooter.
Lassiter and Cabagnot are back. Actually they were in the trenches together. The pair were important cogs in San Miguel’s championship machine that dominated the Philippine Cup in the 2010s. Together with Chris Ross, June Mar Fajardo, and Arwind Santos – known as the “Death Five” in the club – who accounted for nine of the franchise’s 28 crowns.
The exchange will make San Miguel fans easily nostalgic. But it also galvanized something that is unfolding right before the eyes of every PBA fan: The dawn of a new era in San Miguel.
With Cabagnot at Terrafirma, Santos at NorthPort, and coach Leo Austria appointed to a less hands-on role, the Beermen’s grizzled group has been whittled down to just three individuals: Lassiter, Fajardo, and Ross.
“Just to always have memories and say, ‘Hey, you know we’re together as friends,'” said Lassiter, who like Cabagnot, finished the game in double figures.
“It’s kind of cool, cool little moment,” he added.
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