Bolts, Beermen falter in EASL assignments

MANILA, Philippines -- The Busan KCC Egis completed a massive comeback over the Meralco Bolts, 72-68, to finally tally a win in the East Asia Super League 24-25 Wednesday evening at the Busan Sajik Gymnasium in Korea.

The Bolts were unable to score in the final 3:14 of the game to suffer their second loss in the home-and-away league, while Busan finally notched a win through four games.

Heo Ung detonated for 31 points built on 7-of-12 from beyond the arc, to go with four assists. Deonte Burton added 26 points, 14 rebounds, five assists, three steals and a block for the Korean team.

With the Bolts trailing by one, 50-51, heading into the fourth quarter, they unleashed 12 straight points capped by an Angelo Kouame tip-in to grab a 62-51 lead with 6:04 remaining.

Burton finally broke the ice for Busan, 53-62, but a 6-2 mini-run capped by a David Kennedy layup gave the Bolts a 68-55 advantage.

Ung then hit back-to-back-to-back-to-back 3-pointers to make it a one-point game, 67-68, with about 32 seconds left.

After a missed layup by Chris Newsome on the other end, Ung made a layup of his own to push the Korean squad for good, 69-68.

On the other end, Akil Mitchell missed on a jumper, sealing the Busan victory.
Kennedy finished with 23 points and nine rebounds for Meralco, while Mitchell had 17 markers and 18 boards.

Meanwhile, the San Miguel Beermen remained winless in the EASL after succumbing to Hong Kong Eastern, 71-62, at the Southorn Stadium.

In the battle of winless teams, San Miguel had a sluggish start, falling behind by 18 points in the first half.

The Beermen, though, fought back in the fourth, cutting the deficit to just two, 58-60, with 6:17 remaining.

However, an 11-0 run capped by a tip-in by Chris McLaughlinshut the door on a comeback attempt.

Kobey Lam finished with 19 points and three assists for Hong Kong, with McLaughlin backstopping with 16.

Torrent Jones and June Mar Fajardo had 19 points apiece for San Miguel.

The Beermen are now holding a 0-3 win-loss record, while Eastern rose to 1-2.