PBA: Life goes on for Powerade's Lassiter

For highly-touted Powerade rookie Marcio Lassiter, life goes on in the PBA -- trade or no trade. “As a player, you know you should be professional, and my work involves just playing basketball,” said Lassiter, who’s currently in the eye of the storm following a supposed blockbuster trade between the Tigers and the Petron boosters which league commissioner Chito Salud vetoed on Monday.             The deal involved Lassiter, the relentless former Smart Gilas guard, in exchange for the Boosters’ sophomore duo of Noy Baclao and Rey Guevarra.             But Salud found the deal unfair especially since Baclao and Guevarra – though selected nos. 1 and 3 overall in the 2010 Rookie Draft – have both been languishing at the end of the Petron bench since being acquired in a separate multiple-trade with Air21 middle of the league’s 36th season along with fellow rookie Rabeh Al-Hussaini for the veteran quartet of Dondon Hontiveros, Danny Seigle, Dorian Pena and Paul Artadi.             In contrast, Lassiter is proving to be a gem of a find for Powerade as the team’s no. 4 pick in the recent Draft, and played a key role in the Tigers’ runner-up finish in the last Philippine Cup.             “Upon evaluation of the trade that is now before my office, I am exercising my right as Commissioner to veto the trade, return the trade (proposal) to the parties concerned for possible revisions to make it more balance,” Salud said in a statement issued shortly after emerging from a special, three-hour PBA Board meeting.             Although he’s been hearing about the trade issue even prior to the start of the Commissioner’s Cup, the 24-year-old Lassiter said he just kept his focus playing in the import-laden tournament.             “While I have been hearing a lot about it, I just try to move on and play my game,” said the all-around shooting guard out of Cal State Fullerton.             Lassiter finished with 13 points, seven rebounds, and four assists in 38 minutes of play in the Tigers’ thrilling 122-120 come-from-behind win over the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters last week – his first with the team since the proposed trade came to fore.             Taking the same mindset that basketball is a business thing, Lassiter admitted that he doesn’t mind being shipped to another thing since everything is part of the trade.             But at the same time, the former national team mainstay professed how he has gotten comfortable and playing alongside the rest of the Tigers.             “I don’t think any player would like to be traded, especially if you’re already set for one team and have been comfortable with the system,” he said.             “But my Powerade teammates are really great ones, because they just focus on what we have to do despite all these buzz about the team the past few days,” added Lassiter. -- OMG, GMA News