Bolts dominate Black Bears in EASL Cebu clash

CEBU CITY, Philippines – The Meralco Bolts strung together two straight wins in the East Asia Super League (EASL) after blasting the Macau Black Bears, 92-74, at the Cebu Coliseum here.

The Bolts pulled away late in the fourth quarter, thwarting a Damian Chongqui-led rally to equal their EASL win-loss record to 2-2 against the season-debuting Black Bears side.

Rondae Hollis-Jefferson powered Meralco with 34 points, 11 rebounds and five assists to go with two blocks, including big slams to the delight of the crowd. Ismael Romero dominated inside with 25 markers, 28 boards, four dimes and two swats.

"We've done a great job on the board, on the basket. We got 68 points in the paint... It was a difficult game for both teams because they've got a new coach who just came in a week ago with five new players. It was difficult for us as well because we didn't know who we're playing as well," Meralco head coach Nenad Vucinic told reporters.

"So I'm glad that we got this win. We're playing them in three weeks' time again. And we expect a much tougher battle in that game." 

After a close first quarter, the Bolts slowly separated themselves from their opponents, getting a 10-point lead at the half, 48-38.

The Bolts then led by as much as 19 points, 71-52, in the fourth quarter after a booming slam by Romero.

But Macau unleashed a 19-6 run capped by a big stepback 3-pointer by Jalon Miller to slice the deficit to six, 71-77, with 4:10 left.

Chris Banchero, though, answered back with a triple of his own to keep their opponents at bay, 80-71.

Chongqui sank a trey in response, but Meralco ended the game with a 12-0 run to end the game.

Banchero backstopped with 12 points, three rebounds and three assists for the Bolts, while Vahedi Mohammadsina had 10 before fouling out in 19 minutes of play.

Omari Peek-Green and Jalon Miller had 14 markers apiece for Macau, while Yu Runfeng had 13 points for the Black Bears.

The game was held also as a charity event for the disaster-struck Cebu province.

"It was nice to be here in Cebu to play in front of all the fans. Especially after what just happened here with the earthquakes and the typhoon and everything. It was really nice to see smiles on the faces of a lot of the people in the crowd tonight," Chris Newsome, who finished with seven points, four assists and three rebounds, said at the same press conference.