MERALCO found no answer for Heo Ung’s hot hands in the homestretch and lost to Busan KCC Egis, 72-68, in the East Asia Super League (EASL) Home-And-Away Season 2 Wednesday night, Dec. 18, 2024, at the Busan Saijik gymnasium.
The 31-year-old former member of the Korean national team finished 7-of-12 from the three-point region and had four from beyond the arc in the final 4:02 to spark the home team’s comeback.
With Heo at the firing end, the reigning Korean Basketball League (KBL) champion dropped a 19-2 run to wipe out a 13-point deficit in the final four minutes and finally broke through the win column in Group B.
The Korean guard finished with a game-high 31 points, while import Deon Burton added 26 for the home team.
Busan improved its record to 1-3 overall and avenged its 81-80 loss to Meralco in their first meeting at the Philsports Arena last month.
DJ Kennedy led the Bolts with 23 points and nine rebounds, while Akil Mitchell, who scored the game-winning basket in the two teams’ Nov. 13 encounter, had a double-double of 17 points and 18 rebounds despite wearing a face mask following surgery on his broken nose.
Mitchell actually had a chance to pull off another game-winner for the Bolts, but missed a jumper with a second remaining, handing Busan the victory.
Meralco, which held a 66-53 lead in the final four minutes, fell to an even 2-2 record but kept its place at no. 2 in Group B behind unbeaten leader Ryukyu Golden Kings.
Eastern 71, San Miguel 62
EASTERN kept San Miguel winless in the EASL Home-and-Away Season 2 with a 71-62 victory Wednesday night at the Southorn Stadium in Hong Kong.
Kobey Lam proved to be a thorn in the side of the Beermen, scoring 19 points and leading a crucial run that secured the win for the Hong Kong side.
The 24-year-old guard accounted for five straight points in a 9-0 blast midway in the final quarter, giving Eastern a 69-58 lead on the way to notching its first win in the regional tournament.
Big import Chris McLaughlin registered a double-double of 16 points and 17 rebounds and Glenn Yang added 11 for the home team, which improved to a 1-2 record in Group A.
The Hong Kong-based crew fielded only one import in the 6-foot-10 McLaughlin as Cameron Clark has yet to recover from a hip injury.
San Miguel was led by Torren Jones and June Mar Fajardo, who each scored 19 points, but not enough to prevent the team from suffering its third straight loss and remaining at the bottom of the group.
The Beermen closed within 60-58 on a basket by Fajardo before Lam and the rest of the Eastern team pulled together that decisive fourth-quarter run.
The loss was the first for coach Leo Austria in three games since assuming the job last week in lieu of Jorge Gallent.
San Miguel and Eastern will have their rematch on Sunday in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup at the Philsports Arena.
Eastern is currently tied on top of the PBA standings in a tie with Northport at 5-1.
The scores:
BUSAN KCC (72) – Heo 31, Burton 26, Choi 5, Williams 4, Lee 4, Lee G. 2, Epistola 0, Jung 0.
MERALCO (68) – Kennedy 23, Mitchell 17, Kouame 8, Newsome 5, Hodge 3, Quinto 3, Caram 3, Black 2, Bates 2, Caram 2.
Quarters: 13-12, 31-31, 51-50, 72-68.
EASTERN (71) – Lam 19, McLaughlin 16, Yang 11, Blankley 7, Leung 5, Xu 5, Chan 4, Zhu 4, Cheung 0, Pok 0, Guinchard 0.
SAN MIGUEL (62) – Jones 19, Fajardo 19, Perez 8, Miller 5, Tautuaa 3, Cahilig 3, Trollano 3, Rosales 2, Lassiter 0, Ross 0.
Quarters: 28-14, 48-34, 60-48, 71-62. / PBA
