JB, Rondae a dream tandem

Think of the songs with “together” in the title like The Beatles’ “Come Together,” The Turtles’ “Happy Together,” and Mariah Carey’s “We Belong Together.”

Tomorrow, Justin Brownlee and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson will play together for the first time ever as they join forces to lead Meralco against Macau in a crucial EASL game at the Capital Arena in Ilagan, Isabela. It’s a dream come true as two of the PBA’s greatest imports combine in a monumental team-up to kindle hopes for the first PBA team to crash the EASL playoffs after two fruitless seasons.

“It’s fun to watch,” said Meralco team manager Paolo Trillo during yesterday’s Bolts practice. “It was Justin’s second practice with us. We’re running simple plays so he gets to know our system quickly. We’re excited to watch JB and Rondae together. Under EASL rules, we can play two world imports, Rondae and Ismael Romero, along with JB as our naturalized player at the same time.”

In their first EASL meeting this season, Meralco crushed Macau, 92-74 in Cebu last Nov. 15 with RHJ delivering 34 points and Romero, 25. For tomorrow’s game, Macau is bringing in 7-6 Sam Deguara who didn’t play in Cebu. “Deguara’s a big man in the middle and he makes a huge difference,” said Trillo. “We were bigger than Macau in Cebu but now, they’re bigger than us. They’ll be much tougher.” Deguara isn’t the only new player on the Black Bears lineup for Isabela. Torrence Watson, a 6-5 gunner from the University of Missouri, will be making his Macau debut and is expected to play a big role in fueling the Black Bears’ comeback.

Black Bears general manager Kevin Connelly will be in Isabela to fire up the team. His brother Tim is president of the NBA’s Minnesota Timberwolves. Macau’s coach is Garrett Kelly who was formerly the University of Memphis director of basketball operations working with head coach Penny Hardaway. Back on the Macau roster are locals Damian Chongqui and Phoenix Shackelford. Chongqui, a 5-8 spitfire, is the only player to register a triple double in EASL history. Shackelford, a 6-2 guard, hit at a 16.4 clip as a California State Poly-Pomona senior in 2021-22. Another player to watch is 6-6 world import Omari Peek-Green of Alabama A&M University. Peek-Green scored 14 points, including two-of-four triples, against Meralco in Cebu.

Trillo said Asian heritage import Sina Vahedi, who played a game for Iran in the recent FIBA World Cup Asia qualifiers, arrived last Monday and will suit up tomorrow. Meralco’s record is 2-2 in EASL. The Bolts hope to finish No. 1 or 2 in its group with Taoyuan, Ryukyu and Macau to advance to the Round of Six. Meralco will face Ryukyu in San Fernando, Pampanga, on Feb. 11. Among the three group winners, the top two gain a bye to the Final Four while the other four teams engage in knockout games. Winners of the two semis games will play in the final for the $1.5 million first prize. Second place prize is $750,000. The semis losers clash for third place and the $350,000 purse.