Meralco survived the injury of Rondae Hollis-Jefferson and the furious comeback efforts of Macau to hack out a pulsating 93-91 victory in the East Asia Super League at the Capital Arena in Ilagan City, Isabela on Saturday, Dec. 6.
Although the dream pairing of Justin Brownlee and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson prematurely ended after the latter sustained an injury early in the second half, the Bolts held on and staved off the Black Bears for their third straight win.
Brownlee fired 12 points to go with 10 rebounds and six assists in his Meralco debut while Hollis-Jefferson scattered 15 points, four rebounds and seven assists before going down with an injury in the third frame.
With the two at the forefront of the attack, the Bolts led by as many as 18 points before the Black Bear went on a huge rally that put them within a single possession in the final four seconds of the game.
However, a crucial miscue from Macau which led to an Ismael Romero steal sealed the deal for Meralco.
Romero continued with his monster double-double streak with 24 points and 17 rebounds while Asian import Sina Vahedi chipped in 23 points.
Omari Peek-Green paced Macau with 26 points just as Damian Chongqui chipped in 24. Phoenix Shackelford also added 24 while 7-foot-6 center Sam Deguara posted 11 points and 13 rebounds.
