By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
The Meralco Bolts aced its first test in the ongoing East Asia Super League after dominating the visiting Macau Black Bears, 97-85, on October 2, 2024, at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.
Despite an early playoff exit in the PBA Governor’s Cup when they fell at the hands of the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel, Meralco still went all out and vented its ire on Macau.
It was an impressive balanced scoring effort for the PBA squad as they shared the offensive load courtesy of the efficient sets run by their coaching staff.
With the presence of the towering Sam Deguara manning the Macau paint, the Bolts decided to play fast and bring the tall front-court behemoth out of the shaded area in isolation situations.
Allen Durham and DJ Kennedy took turns taking Deguara to school, using their quick isolation dribble escape moves for several easy baskets down the lane.
Chris Newsome was also spectacular in their first game of the EASL this year as the Meralco superstar capped off the win with an all-around performance.
The veteran shooting guard heated up early in the game, knocking down his signature perimeter jump shots while also holding his ground against the bigger guards from Macau.
Newsome led Meralco’s charge with 18 points, six assists, and three steals while the import duo of Durham and Kennedy chipped in 17 markers each.
Kennedy was near to recording a triple-double after tallying nine rebounds and seven dimes while Durham ended another game with a double-double when he hauled 11 boards.
Ange Kouame, one of the naturalized players of Gilas Pilipinas, was also tapped by the Bolts for the EASL and didn’t disappoint with nine markers and nine boards.
On the other hand, the San Miguel Beermen had a contrasting result after losing their EASL game against Korean Basketball League (KBL) club Suwon KT Sonicboom, 87-81.
