BY REYNALD MAGALLON
A combined 67-point effort from imports Rondae Hollis-Jefferson and Quincy Miller were not enough to power TNT to its first win, absorbing a 106-97 defeat at the hands of Taipei Fubon in the East Asia Super League at the Taipei Heping Gymnasium on Wednesday, Nov. 15.
The splendid performances from Hollis-Jefferson and Miller went down the drain as the Tropang Giga lost steam in the final five minutes, allowing the Braves to pull away for their first win in the regional league.
Hollis-Jefferson scattered 33 points, 10 assists and six rebounds in an all-around effort while Miller had his share of 34 points, 10 rebounds and two blocks for the Tropang Giga who remained winless through three outings so far in EASL.
Chris Johnson and former PBA import Mike Singletary made sure that the Braves had some answers to RHJ and Miller’s explosions after finishing with 29 and 26 points, respectively.
Filipino-American Sedrick Barefield also made his presence felt for the Braves with 21 points, seven assists and five rebounds.
Elsewhere, Meralco was given a rude EASL welcome, absorbing an 89-61 beating at the hands of the host team Ryukyu at the Okinawa Arena.
The Golden Kings caught fire in a huge second quarter onslaught that tore the game wide open and handed the Bolts a forgettable first game in the regional home-and-away league.
That quarter set the tone for the rout as Ryukyu dominated Meralco on both ends of the floor, exploding for 31 points while limiting the Filipinos to a measly 13 points.
When the dust settled at the break, the hometown bets were already up by 48-34 and the lead just went up to as many as 28 points in the ensuing quarters as the hosts fully asserted their might against the Filipinos who missed the services of Commissioner’s Cup import Suleiman Braimoh and top gunner Allein Maliksi
Allen Durham proved to be the biggest thorn to the side of his former team in the PBA, finishing with 16 points, nine rebounds and six assists. He shared the top scoring honors with Keith Imamura who also fired 16 built on four triples.
Other Ryukyu import Jack Cooley added 12 points and eight rebounds while Filipino import Carl Tamayo had seven points.
