Meralco falls short at start of EASL campaign

Sports

THE Meralco Bolts got off to a faulty start, falling again to perennial tormentor Ryukyu Golden Kings, 72-81, in the East Asia Super League on Wednesday night, Oct. 22, at the Okinawa Suntory Arena in Japan.

Ronda Hollis-Jefferson produced big numbers but the Bolts still coudln’t overcome Ryukyu, which defended its home turf to extend its dominance over Meralco.

The Golden Kings have now won four of their five meetings with the Bolts, breaking into the win column after starting the competition with an 80-94 defeat to the Taoyuan Pilots.

The loss spoiled the superb outing of Hollis-Jefferson, who tallied 25 points, eight rebounds, and five assists. Meralco’s other import, Ismael Romero, came away with 13 points and 11 rebounds.

The Bolts played without two key pieces as naturalized player Justin Brownlee and Asian import Sina Vahedi did not suit up.

Chris Newsome and CJ Cansino were the only Meralco locals to score in twin digits with 12 and 11 points, respectively.

The Bolts were just within 74-72 in the final 2:19 but allowed the Golden Kings to go on a 7-0 run that hastened their downfall.

THE SCORES:

RYUKYU (81) - Kishimoto 22, Kirk 17, Sadohara 16, Cooley 12, Sakihama 6, Arakawa 3, Onodera 2, Matsuwaki 2, Whitaker 1, Taira 0.

MERALCO (72) - Hollis-Jefferson 25, Romero 13, Newsome 12, Cansino 11, Quinto 2, Black 2, Maliksi 0, Bates 0.QUARTERSCORES:14-18; 37-36; 59-56; 81-72.(CCM)