MANILA, Philippines—San Miguel Beer shooter Marcio Lassiter drew high praise from coach Leo Austria after Game 2 of the PBA Philippine Cup semifinals, and for good reason.

Lassiter led the way for the Beermen in their 100-83 romp of Barangay Ginebra that tied their best-of-seven series at 1-1 Friday night.

READ: PBA: Bench steps up big-time for San Miguel in convincing win

With Fajardo under minutes management, another veteran in Marcio Lassiter led San Miguel Beer to the dub over Ginebra. @INQUIRERSports pic.twitter.com/s6arnCsgkZ

— Rommel Fuertes Jr. (@MeloFuertesINQ) June 27, 2025

“He (Lassiter) knows what the situation is and he stepped up. That’s why he’s here right now,” said a beaming Austria.

“I know his experience is different from the experience of those players. He’s a winner who won 10 championships with this team. Getting to the finals is a long shot, but slowly, he knows what to do.”

Lassiter rose to the occasion in Game 2 with a hurting June Mar Fajardo on the sidelines.

Fajardo, who is dealing with a calf injury, played limited minutes for the Beermen, finishing with just two points and seven rebounds.

That didn’t seem to matter, though, as Lassiter stepped up with 16 points built on four 3-pointers.

READ: PBA: San Miguel gets back at Ginebra to tie semis 1-1

“I think from Game 1, we kind of noticed that there were certain things that we could have done a little bit better. Tonight, we had a little bit more assists so that was good on the part of everyone. We’re just sharing the ball,” said Lassiter.

“It puts a lot of pressure on the defense when everyone can be a threat and tonight, that’s what we wanted. We wanted to exploit everyone, making sure that everyone’s being a threat,” he added.

Aside from Lassiter, Don Trollano, Kris Rosales, CJ Perez, Jericho Cruz and Mo Tautuaa also hit double-digits in scoring.

Lassiter and San Miguel Beer hope to unleash another balanced attack on Sunday in Game 3.