Powerade board governor JB Baylon and coach Bo Perasol had to wait a while to see one of their draft picks, Marcio Lassiter, in action in the 2011 FIBA Asia Championship. The Filipino-American forward, the Tigers’ fourth overall pick in this year’s rookie draft, was barred from playing in the first round along with Chris Lutz because of eligibility issues.

But Lassiter has made an impact in each of the two games for the SMART-Gilas Pilipinas national team, earning him praise from his PBA bosses.

“He was a game changer,” Perasol told InterAKTV in a telephone interview. “On a scale of 1 to 10, I won’t hesitate to give him an 8.”

It was the same grade given by Baylon, the current vice-chairman of the PBA Board of Governors, who watched the games live in Wuhan, China to get a bird’s eye view of the two players who will soon join his squad in the pro league, Lassiter and top overall pick Jayvee Casio.

“I was watching live in Wuhan and I was impressed with his performance as well as the rest of the team,” wrote Baylon in a text message. “Because of that, I’m giving him an 8.”

Lassiter finished with 14 points, including four three-pointers in SMART-Gilas’ 72-64 win over Jordan on Monday, before coming through with 15 points in an 83-76 win of his team over Japan a day after.

With the do-it-all swingman’s performance, the two members of the Powerade brain trust are excited to have him on board along with Casio in less than three weeks when the pro league opens its 37th season.

source: Reynaldo Belen -InterAKTV