RYUKYU wasn't in the mood to lay the red carpet for Meralco and dealt the Bolts their first loss in the Season 2 of the EASL (East Asia Super League), 77-74, Wednesday night at the Okinawa Arena in Japan.
Last year's B. League runner up team went into high gear in the second period to take control of the match, and then survived a late Meralco charge in the endgame to clinch the win.
The Golden Kings rained the Bolts with a series of 3s in the second quarter, where they outscored the visitors, 28-17, to take a 51-35 lead with them at the half.
Former Orlando Magic Victor Law led the home team with 18 points, 12 rebounds, and five assists, Jack Cooley also had 18 and seven boards, while naturalized player Alex Kirk added 12 for the debuting Golden Kings.
Yoshiya Uematsu and Yoshiyuki Matsuwaki each had nine points and was responsible for the first half breakaway behind their sizzling three-point shooting.
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The Bolts were led by DJ Kennedy with 30 points and 12 rebounds in a losing cause that saw the team fell to an even 1-1 card after failing to come with a fitting follow up to their 97-85 win over the Macau Blackbears during the season opener at the Mall of Asia Arena.
Chris Newsome had 18 and so did import Allen Durham, who led a Meralco rally down the stretch that only fell short.
Durham, playing for the first time against his former team, along with Kennedy and Bong Quinto teamed up in an 8-0 run to cut what was once an 11-point deficit to 77-74 with 20 seconds remaining.
The 36-year-old Durham even had the chance to send the game into overtime, but misfired on the game-tying 3 just before the buzzer. (RG)
The scores
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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 14, Newsome 14, Kouame 4, Quinto 4, Bates 0, Almazan 0, Caram 0.
Quarterscores: 23-18; 51-35; 66-57; 77-74.
