MERALCO found no answer on Heo Ung's hot hands in the homestretch and lost to Busan KCC Egis, 72-68, in the EASL Home-And-Away Season 2 Wednesday night 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 the same area in the final 4:02 to spark the comeback by the home team.
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 hiked its record to 1-3 overall and got even against Meralco following an 81-80 loss in their first meeting at the Philsports Arena last month.
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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 after coming off a surgery on his broken nose.
Mitchell actually had a chance to pull off another game-winner for the Bolts, but missed on a jumper with a second remaining in the game to hand 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. (RG)
The scores
Busan KCC (72) - Heo 31, Burton 26, Choi 5, Williams 4, Lee 4, Lee G. 2, Epistola 0, Jung 0.
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Meralco (68) - Kennedy 23, Mitchell 17, Kouame 8, Newsome 5, Hodge 3, Quinto 3, Caram 3, Black 2, Bates 2, Caram 2.
Quarterscores: 13-12; 31-31: 51-50; 72-68.
