Ryukyu cuts Meralco’s power, gets first EASL win

Japan B.League squad, Ryukyu Golden Kings survive Meralco’s power surge to get their first win in the East Asia Super League (EASL), 77-74, Wednesday night, October 16, at the Okinawa Arena, Japan.

The runner-up of last year’s B.League weathered the storm that the Bolts made in the final 2:50 minutes of play.

Meralco came back from a 66-77 deficit through an 8-0 run to cut down the lead to only three points with 41.7 seconds remaining.

Allen Durham, who’s playing against his former team for the first time, had a chance to force the game into overtime but his attempt was swatted by Ryukyu import Victor Law.

Durham finished the game with 18 points, nine rebounds, and five assists, while his fellow Bolts reinforcement DJ Kennedy produced 30 markers and 12 boards.

Chris Newsome led the local unit with 18.

The winning team relied on the heroics of Law, who contributed a double-double of 18 points and 12 rebounds.

Jack Cooley, the Golden Kings other import, also got 18 markers along with seven boards, while naturalized player Alex Kirk put up 12.

Ryukyu now topped Group B with a 1-0 record, while Meralco split their games to have a 1-1 team standing.

The next game assignment for the Bolts will be the Busan KCC Egis of the Korean Basketball League whom they will face on November 13 at the Philsports Arena.

Ryukyu (77) — Law 18, Cooley 18, Kirk 12, Eumatsu 9, Matsuwaki 9, Waki 6, Kishimoto 3, Arakawa 2, Onodera 0.

Meralco (74) — Kennedy 30, Durham 18, Newsome 18, Kouame 4, Quinto 4, Bates 0, Almazan 0, Caram 0.

Quarter Scores: 23-18; 51-35; 66-57; 77-74.