Meralco had a challenging start to their East Asia Super League (EASL) Group B campaign, stumbling against defending B. League champion Ryukyu, 89-61, at the Okinawa Arena in Japan on Wednesday.
Facing visa issues, Meralco played without their current PBA Commissioner’s Cup import, Suleiman Braimoh.
In his absence, Ryukyu’s reinforcement, Allen Durham, showcased his prowess against his former team, contributing 16 points, nine rebounds, and six assists.
Keita Imamura matched Durham’s 16 points for the Golden Kings, while Asian import Carl Tamayo provided seven points, three rebounds, an assist, and a block in 17 minutes off the bench.
Chris Newsome led Meralco with 11 points in the loss, while Prince Ibeh and Cliff Hodge added 10 points each.
Meanwhile, in Group A at the Taipei Heping Basketball Gymnasium in Taiwan, TNT suffered a 106-97 loss to three-time defending P. League+ champion Taipei Fubon, dropping to 0-3 in the standings.
Fubon’s imports, Chris Johnson, Mike Singletary, and Filipino-American guard Sedrick Barefield, all scored over 20 points, with Johnson leading the way with 29 points. Singletary and Barefield got 26 and 21 points, respectively.
TNT heavily relied on Quincy Miller and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson.
Miller contributed a game-high 34 points and 10 rebounds, while Hollis-Jefferson recorded 33 points, five boards, and nine assists.
Meralco will next face Jeremy Lin and Taipei on November 29 while TNT heads to Anyang to take on Rhenz Abando and the Red Boosters on December 6.
