The PBA hasn’t had much success in the EASL, but it’s not for lack of trying—at least when the Meralco Bolts are concerned. The 2024 PBA Philippine Cup champions have tried hard in every one of their EASL stints, nearly making it to the Final Four of Season 2 only to be ambushed by the New Taipei Kings in a double-overtime heartbreaker.
Meralco Going All-In and All-Out
Now, it looks like the Bolts are hell-bent on exorcising the demons of past EASL failures. As proof, they have assembled what is arguably the team’s best cast of imports for the regional tournament, bringing in Puerto Rican big man Ismael Romero to play alongside PBA super imports Justin Brownlee and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson.
Romero, a burly 6-foot-8 big, has been a pillar of the Puerto Rican national team for many years now, putting up 10.1 points and 6.7 boards a game in 36 FIBA-sanctioned competitions. He averaged 11.4 points and 7.4 rebounds for Puerto Rico in the 2023 FIBA World Cup and 16.3 points and 7.8 rebounds in the recently held FIBA AmeriCup.
In the EASL, he will be playing with Brownlee, arguably the GOAT import of the PBA, and Hollis-Jefferson, certainly one of the best ones to have set foot in local hoops. The three figure to give Meralco an inside-outside attack that would be hard to match, with Romero expected to provide inside muscle, Brownlee to take care of the outside sniping, and Hollis-Jefferson to fill in any and all gaps in playmaking.
Meralco Bolts: For Country and for the PBA
Given the PBA’s lack of success in the multi-nation competition, it’s easy to see why the Meralco Bolts are doing everything in their power to field a powerhouse squad in Season 3 of the EASL.
“We want to win the EASL for the country and for the PBA,” Meralco league representative Billy Pamintuan told the press during a break in the PBA’s annual planning session on Tuesday at MGM Grand. “We are leaving no stones unturned, make no mistake about it.”
Indeed, the Bolts are leaving no stones unturned this time around as they’re reportedly bringing a point guard to serve as their Asian import. The EASL allows teams to field two naturalized players, two imports, and an Asian import as reinforcements. Romero and Hollis-Jefferson will be Meralco’s two imports in this case, with Brownlee and Ange Kouame, a Gilas Pilipinas naturalized player like JB, serving as the team’s two naturalized players.
They will join a local crew bannered by Gilas mainstay Chris Newsome, all-around guard Chris Banchero, 3-and-D wing Bong Quinto, and the ever-energetic Cliff Hodge.
The EASL tips off Season 3 on October 8, 2025, with games in Taipei and Tokyo. The Meralco Bolts will make their season debut two weeks later on October 22 with an away game against the Ryukyu Golden Kings.
