Meralco ready for Ryukyu
MANILA, Philippines — The PBA is scoreless in six games so far in EASL’s inaugural home-and-away season with five of the losses on the road. TNT and Meralco are the PBA’s reps in the eight-team tournament which is billed as “Where Champions Clash.” The best of the best in East Asia are vying for the $1-million first prize with the Final Four set to reel off in March.
TNT qualified for EASL by virtue of winning the last Governors’ Cup. Barangay Ginebra also made it after topping the Commissioner’s Cup but begged off as coach Tim Cone and key players Scottie Thompson, Jamie Malonzo and Japeth Aguilar were exhausted from Gilas duties. Meralco joined as a late replacement, coming off a semifinal finish in the Governors’ Cup.
TNT is 0-4 with defeats to Chiba twice, 93-75 and 75-66, Taipei Fubon, 106-97 and Anyang, 105-97. Meralco is 0-3 after bowing to Ryukyu, 89-61 and New Taipei, 97-92. Six games are left in the PBA’s calendar. Meralco battles Ryukyu tonight in Macau. It was initially scheduled as a home stand for the Bolts but EASL negotiated a deal with Macau to bring the game over as a special treat for fans at the Studio City in partnership with Melco Resorts and Entertainment. Then, TNT takes on Taipei Fubon on Dec. 20 and Meralco tackles Seoul on Dec. 27, both at home. Meralco meets New Taipei on Jan. 7 and TNT engages Anyang on Jan 24, both at home before Meralco travels to Seoul on Feb. 7. The top two finishers in two four-team groups will advance to the Final Four.
In Meralco’s first meeting with Ryukyu, the Bolts were without deadshots Allein Maliksi, Chris Banchero and Zach Lofton. This time, the three will be in harness and Meralco coach Luigi Trillo said the Bolts are ready to rumble. Ryukyu’s chief import is Allen Durham who played five conferences with Meralco in the PBA. The Golden Kings’ other import is 6-9 Jack Cooley who has been with Ryukyu since 2019-20. UP’s Carl Tamayo is Ryukyu’s Asian heritage import.
“We’ve got a lot of respect for Ryukyu which is a disciplined and precision-playing team,” said Trillo. “Their locals and imports are extremely competitive. No excuses but we’re playing with only one import in the PBA and we play with two in
