The Meralco Bolts won’t be making their own EASL after all.
This after the Ryukyu Golden Kings of the Japan B.League hacked out a commanding 88-79 win on Wednesday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. The loss officially put an end to Meralco’s semis bid, which would have been for the franchise in the EASL, while the win gave the Golden Kings the second seed overall—and one of two automatic byes to the semis.
Bolts Start Out Flat as Ryukyu Gets Golden Start
Ryukyu took the fight out of the Bolts early, racing out to a 26-16 lead after one thanks to some red-hot shooting, coupled with the Bolts firing blanks. The Golden Kings continued their torrid start in the second quarter, where they extended the lead to 51-36 on the strength of polished execution, rapid-fire ball movement, and sensational three-point shooting.
Ryukyu remained in control in the third quarter as it kept Meralco from launching any comeback bid. The Golden Kings’ solid play was again the key as they kept the Bolts at bay with crisp passing and a nearly unchecked two-man game. After three, the Japan B.League squad was still ahead by 16 and looked headed for an easy win.
Meralco Rallies But Falls Short
The Bolts, though, did have one big rally in them. With their EASL hopes being dashed, Meralco slowly but surely ate away at the Golden Kings’ lead and got to within 80-74 with 3:14 remaining on a tip-in by controversial import Ismael Romero. But that was as far as the Bolts could get as they couldn’t make the big shots to stem the tide and complete the fightback.
Yoshiyuki Matsuwaki starred for the Golden Kings, firing all of his 18 points—all on triples—in Ryukyu’s first-half onslaught. Vic Law added 15 points and some game-sealing free throws. Romero had a game-high 24 points for Meralco to go along with 9 rebounds, while new import Cody Lalanne, tapped to replace the injured Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, contributed 18 points and 5 boards.
