The San Miguel Beermen and the Meralco Bolts, the Philippines’ two representatives to the East Asia Super League (EASL) suffered contrasting fates on Tuesday as the league visited the country for a pair of home games for the two PBA ballclubs.
Taoyuan Waylays Hapless San Miguel
San Miguel’s struggles aren’t over, it appears.
Weeks after their unceremonious exit from the recently concluded PBA Governors’ Cup, the Beermen suffered yet another defeat, falling to the visiting Taoyuan Pauian Pilots at the resumption of EASL action on Wednesday at the PhilSports Arena.
It took the Pilots just one strong push—a 32-13 second-quarter domination—to pull away from the reeling Beermen, whose every rally fizzled out under the might of Taoyuan’s steady execution.
Seven-foot reinforcement Alec Brown top-scored for the Pilots with 27 points, while Trevor Graham and Lu Chun Hsiang added 25 apiece. Quincy Miller said to be San Miguel’s PBA Commissioner’s Cup import, paced the Beermen with 32 markers, followed by Don Trollano’s 13.
The Pilots’ blowout was marred by an altercation between San Miguel’s Jericho Cruz and Taoyuan’s Brown after the big man took exception to Cruz’s repeated slaps after a foul had already been called at the midway point of the final canto.
With the loss, the Beermen have now lost two straight in their EASL campaign, while the Pilots improved to 2-0.
The scores:
- Taoyuan 101 – Brown 27, Graham 25, Lu 25, Pai 11, Li 5, Lin 2, Dieng 2, Chen 2, Kuan 2
- San Miguel 85 – Miller 32, Trollano 13, Anosike 8, Perez 8, Fajardo 7, Tautuaa 5, Romeo 4, Cruz 4, Rosales 3, Ross 1
Meralco Mounts Furious Rally, Stuns Busan KCC
The Philippines looked headed for a winless night of action as the Meralco Bolts trailed Busan KCC Egis by double digits in the nightcap of Wednesday’s EASL slate, also at the PhilSports Arena.
In fact, the Bolts were still down 72-63 at the eight-minute mark of the fourth and looked headed for a loss. But the Luigi Trillo-helmed squad turned things around with a 17-8 run from that point to tie the game at 80 apiece.
Meralco then got a huge break at the endgame when import Akil Mitchell, who will also suit up for the Bolts in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup, was fouled in a loose ball scramble with 6.4 ticks remaining. The 6-foot-9 reinforcement calmly sank the first of his two free throws before missing the second, leaving Busan a final shot at securing the win. But the Bolts made one final defensive stand to complete the comeback.
Mitchell finished with 33 points and 22 boards for Meralco, who also got 8 points apiece from Ange Kouame, Chris Newsome, and Bong Quinto. Deonte Burton carried the fight for the still-winless Egis with 26 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals, and 1 block.
The scores:
- Meralco 81 – Mitchell 33, Kennedy 14, Newsome 8, Quinto 8, Kouame 8, Hodge 6, Banchero 4
- Busan 80 – Burton 26, Heo 14, Lee G. 14, Lee S.H. 9, Williams 9, Jung 6, Lee H.Y. 2
