San Miguel Beermen legend Marcio Lassiter is all in on being a stage dad for his sons Montae and Myles as they pursue their own basketball dreams.
Marcio Lassiter pulled up to a Japan B.LEAGUE event, exuding main character aura in BGC on a Sunday morning, Nov. 23.
But while fans lined up to ask for a picture with him, Lassiter wasn’t exactly there as a San Miguel and Gilas star gracing the B.LEAGUE HOPE Asia Jr. Clinic as guest of honor.
He came as a father.
In fact, the entire Lassiter family showed up to support their second eldest child, Myles, join other kids in the clinic conducted by former Phoenix and Gilas ace Matthew Wright.
[RELATED STORY: Is Matthew Wright making a PBA comeback?]
“As a father, I think it's just, for me, it's always what they want to do. It's kind of cool to see, you know, I guess, father and son, but at the same time, they're blazing their own path,” Lassiter told One Sports.
“And for me, it's easier because, you know, I play the sport and I can help them so great bonding time, as you can say, with our kids. It's fun. It started with my eldest, Montae, and then they all kind of trickled down from there.”
Montae shadows the 6-foot-3 SMB legend every PBA game while also trying to make a name for himself with Far Eastern University’s high school basketball team.
The 12-year-old Myles, meanwhile, looks like he’s on his way to make becoming a professional basketball player his life goal.
“Yeah, I mean, for sure, Monte and Myles are starting to get into it. It's for fun, but I know for sure he's going to start liking it more, so the more serious he gets, I'm sure he'll be calling me or asking for pointers. Right now, he just does leagues in school, and he enjoys it,” Marcio said.
As a father, Lassiter doesn’t really want to talk his kids into pursuing something. He wants them to blaze their own paths.
That’s why PBA’s all-time leader in three-points made feels lucky he only needed to be great at what he does to get them to pursue the sports he loves.
“You know, who wouldn't want to see their sons following their own footsteps? Like you said, it's up to them if they want to pursue it, but I'm always there to be their guide, their support, their inspiration. Everything you can think of. Just to make sure that what they want to do I can be there for them,” he said.
Even at 38 years old, Lassiter still looks like he’s got tons of gas left in him. If God continues to bless him with playing years, will he pull off a LeBron-Bronny James and wait for Montae in the PBA?
Why not, said Lassiter.
“Yeah, I mean, I hope. That'd be a tremendous, tremendous honor for our family and for the next generation,” he said.
“He really likes it, so I really hope he just puts in the work and I hope to get a couple more inches. He'll be taller than me, so that'd be great, too.”
But until then, he’s going to continue supporting his kids in all their endeavors.
—
Like most sportswriters, Jan Ballesteros once dreamed of becoming a professional hooper. But he learned the hard way that it’s not for everyone.
He continues to be involved in the sport he loves, but this time as a member of the PBA Press Corps. Aside from primarily covering the PBA, he is also assigned to cover Gilas Pilipinas.