MERALCO, sparked by new addition Sina Vahedi, recharged its bid in the East Asia Super League (EASL) with an 85-76 payback win over Taiwan champ Taoyuan Pauian Pilots on Saturday night in Ilagan City.
Iranian Mr. Vahedi, the Continent’s premier playmaker, whipped up a storm in his much-awaited debut as the Philippine club’s Asian import, rifling in 22 points, seven assists and two rebounds as the Bolts broke through in front of delighted home fans after a 0-2 start in Group B.
Mr. Vahedi, who was named to the FIBA Asia Cup’s All-Star Five after Iran’s bronze medal finish last August, missed out on the Bolts’ opening back-to-back losses on the road to Japan’s Ryukyu Golden Kings (72-81) and the Pilots (72-82), due to visa issues.
“I’m so happy to finally join the team and win the game,” said the 6-foot-1 Iranian, who was adjudged Player of the Game in the match played at the Capital Arena.
The Bolts stormed to an 11-2 tear to set the tone for the victory at the expense of the erstwhile spotless Taoyuan (2-1) that pumped life back to their playoffs drive at 1-2 behind the second-running Golden Kings (1-1).
Puerto Rican reinforcement Ismail Romero matched Mr. Vahedi’s 22-point output and hauled down 14 rebounds as Rondae Hollis-Jefferson turned in 15 markers, 10 boards, and seven assists in a milestone night that saw him join the EASL’s 200-point club.
RHJ previously played for TNT in the opening season.
Ange Kouame, who took the place of the sick Justin Brownlee as Meralco’s naturalized player, contributed to the team’s interior defense and logged three points and four rebounds in a solid debut.
Meralco will try to make it two in a row on Nov. 15 when they take on the Macau Black Bears at the Cebu Coliseum. — Olmin Leyba
The scores:
Meralco 85 – Vahedi 22, Romero 22, Hollis-Jefferson 15, Newsome 14, Quinto 3, Kouame 3, Banchero 2, Almazan 2, Hodge 2.
Taoyuan 76 – Millner 19, Lu 17, Artino 15, Brown 9, Li 7, Kuan 5, Pai 2, Lin 2, Morrison 0, Dieng 0, Cheng 0.
Quarterscores: 23-14; 43-30; 66-50; 85-76