October 3 ------ MERALCO got its 2024-25 EASL season off on a winning note, blowing out Macau Black Bears, 97-85 at the Mall of Asia Arena. Chris Newsome, DJ Kennedy, Allen Durham, and Chris Banchero led a collective effort for the Bolts in opening the tournament with a win just two days after they were swept by Barangay Ginebra in the quarterfinals of the PBA Governors' Cup.
With Wednesday's result, Meralco has already matched its win total in the last EASL season where it ended up with a 1-5 win-loss record, the lone victory coming in overtime at the expense of the Ryukyu Golden Kings in Macau last December 13. Newsome dropped 18 points and six assists for Meralco, including a three-pointer to begin a late run that turned an 80-72 game into a rout.
Kennedy had 17 points, nine rebounds, and seven assists in his debut game for the Bolts after the team signed him to join Durham for the EASL campaign. Picking up where he left off in the PBA, Durham had 17 points and 11 rebounds for Meralco, and even scored a dunk in the final moments of the match to put an emphatic end to the win. Banchero added 14 points on 6-of-10 shooting from the field to also help the Bolts in the win. Even Ange Kouame, Meralco’s naturalized player for the season, contributed in the win by scoring nine points and grabbing nine rebounds. William Artino had 23 points and 14 rebounds, Jeantal Cylla had 23 points, and Damian Chongqui added 21 points for Macau, one of the two expansion teams for the new EASL season.
The scores:
Meralco 97 – Newsome 18, Durham 17, Kennedy 17, Banchero 14, Kouame 9, Almazan 7, Quinto 7, Hodge 4, Caram 2, Bates 2.
Macau Black Bears 85 – Cylla 23, Artino 23, Chongqui 21, Leung 10, Deguara 8, Chao 0, Li 0, Zeng 0, Lao 0, Chan 0.
Quarters: 24-17; 43-39; 73-64; 97-85.
Source: spin.ph
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