Bolts fall short of EASL finals berth

MANILA, Philippines -- The Meralco Bolts were ousted from the East Asia Super League (EASL) after getting zapped by the Ryukyu Golden Kings, 88-79, Wednesday evening at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City. 

A six-point win by Meralco would have punched the team’s ticket to the finals, but the Bolts failed to come back from a huge margin. 

Yoshiyuki Matsuwaki led the way for the Golden Kings with 18 points on 6-of-9 3-pointers. Victor Law chipped in 15 markers, six boards and four dimes to go with three steals.

Controversial big man Ismael Romero powered the Bolts with 24 points and nine rebounds, while Cody LaLanne produced 18 markers and five boards in his Meralco debut. 

Ryukyu relied on its hot shooting from beyond the arc to grab a 51-36 advantage at the half. 

The lead grew to as much as 20 points, 74-54, after a Masahiro Waki split from the line. 

But a 20-6 run capped by a layup by Romero to slice the deficit to six, 74-80, with 3:17 remaining. 

The nearest Meralco got to, though, was within five points, 79-84, with about 48 seconds to go, before free throws by Shuto Sakihama and Law iced the game. 

Meralco thus finished the group stage with a 3-3 win-loss record, while Ryukyu rose to the top of Group B with a 5-1 slate.

The Golden Kings connected on 14 of their 28 attempts from deep, while the Bolts had a 6-of-22 clip. 

Justin Brownlee had 12 points for Meralco, but he shot 3-of-13 from the field. Chris Newsome, who sustained a knee injury in the PBA Philippine Cup, saw action and had three markers. 

Despite the exit, this is the Bolts’ best-ever finish in the EASL.