EASL: Meralco will try to keep playoffs hope alive against Ryukyu

The Meralco Bolts will try to strengthen their hopes of getting to the Final Four of the East Asia Super League (EASL) 2024-25 season when they meet the Ryukyu Golden Kings on Wednesday, January 22, at the Philsports Arena in Pasig.

In their first meeting on October 16, 2024, Ryukyu opened their season with a narrow win against Meralco, 77-74, at the Okinawa Arena in Japan.

Last season, the two teams split their head-to-head match-up with the Golden Kings winning the first encounter with a dominating 89-61 triumph behind Keita Imamura’s game-high 19 points, while the Bolts get their vengeance through Chris Newsome heroics in their second battle to get a 97-88 overtime victory.

This coming Wednesday, Meralco will be determined to duplicate the feat versus Ryukyu on home turf as they aim to be part of the semifinals cast for the very first time.

Now at 2-2, a win means the Bolts can climb up to second place behind the Group B leader Golden Kings, who are already assured of a playoff berth with a 4-1 win-loss record.

If Meralco gets the important win, all they have to do is finish it strong against New Taipei Kings on February 12 to be assured of a spot in the Final Four.

Both teams will rely once again on their team captains and imports to lead their respective squads. Newsome, together with Akil Mitchell and David Kennedy, are expected to carry the load for the Bolts, while Ryuichi Kishimoto, together with Jack Cooley and Victor Law are the ones bannering the Golden Kings.

Tip-off will be at 8:10 in the evening.