THE Ryukyu Golden Kings spoiled the first game of Rondae Hollis-Jefferson in a Meralco jersey, hacking out an 81-72 victory over their Philippine rival to make it to the win column of the EASL Home and Away Season 3 on Wednesday night.
The Golden Kings went on a finishing 7-0 run inside the final two minutes to take the fight out of the rallying Bolts side left without Justin Brownlee and Asian import Mohammad Sina Vahedi before a full-house crowd at the Okinawa Suntory Arena.
The loss dampened the debut of Hollis-Jefferson, the former NBA player and three-time PBA Best Import of TNT, who dropped 25 points, eight rebounds, and five assists for the Bolts.
Fellow import Ismael Romero came through with a double-double of 13 points and 11 rebounds – numbers that were not enough to prevent Meralco from going down and halting the three-game PBA winning streak it brought with them to the EASL.
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It was the duo of Ryuichi Kishimoto and Ryo Sadohara who presided over the Golden Kings’ finishing touches that had Sadohara hitting a huge three pointer and Kishimoto capping the short but telling run with two free throws to settle the final score.
Kishimoto had 22 points for Ryukyu including five three-point shots, while Alex Kirk had monster numbers of 17 points and 17 rebounds, and Sadohara with 16.
Jack Cooley came in with 12 points and 19 rebounds for the one-time B. League champions.
Chris Newsome led all Meralco locals with 12 points including 2-of-3 from beyod the arc, the last of which put the Bolts within 74-72 with 2:19 left to play before Kishimoto and Sadohara teamed up for Ryukyu’s finishing kick.
The scores
Ryukyu (81) – Kishimoto 22, Kirk 17, Sadohara 16, Cooley 12, Sakihama 6, Arakawa 3, Onodera 2, Matsuwaki 2, Whitaker 1, Taira 0.
Meralco (72) – Hollis-Jefferson 25, Romero 13, Newsome 12, Cansino 11, Quinto 2, Black 2, Maliksi 0, Bates 0.
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Quarterscores: 14-18; 37-36; 59-56; 81-72.
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