February 7, 2024 – SM Mall of Asia Arena, Manila

Storylines:

1. Bolts bow out of Governor’s Cup‍

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The Meralco Bolts are coming off a tough exit in the Philippines Basketball Association, after getting eliminated by Barangay Ginebra San Miguel in a three-game sweep on Monday.

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Two days after the loss, they will play the Macau Black Bears on Wednesday night.

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"It will be very hard because we're coming off a loss. I don't know how we're going to motivate these guys as hard as the timing is," said Bolts’ Head Coach Luigi Trillo. "Our focus is here (PBA). It's hard to do all of a sudden just move. But we have to do it."

One bright spot was the play of new import Allen Durham, who averaged 32.3 points in the three games against Ginebra. He will look to continue his scoring prowess in the EASL this season.

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2. A New Beginning‍

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Macau — one of two new East Asia Super League (EASL) expansion teams for the 2024-25 season — makes its debut on Wednesday, Oct. 2. The Black Bears take on Philippine Basketball Association powerhouse, the Meralco Bolts, in the second leg of EASL’s Tip-Off 2024 event at Manila’s SM Mall of Asia Arena.

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Equipped with a fast-paced, free-flowing offense, Macau runs most of its sets through floor general Damian Chong Qui. At just 5-foot-9, the point guard operates well off of ball screens but can also pop out and hit an open 3. Jenning Leung, a sharp-shooting 6-foot guard out of Canada’s McGill University, makes up an elite Black Bears’ backcourt.

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“The entire Macau Black Bears organization couldn't be more excited to join the EASL,” Macau General Manager Kevin Connelly said about the Black Bears’ outlook on EASL’s 2024-25 season. “We hope to make Macau and Asia proud. We can't wait to get underway and clash with other champions this season.”

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3. Bolts recharged with vengeance‍

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The Meralco Bolts came into last season with no expectations in the EASL. The team finished with a 1-5 record, with their highlight coming in the Clash of Champions game in Studio City Macau, where they defeated 2023 B.LEAGUE champions, Ryukyu Golden Kings, in an overtime thriller.

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Since the conclusion of their last EASL match, the Bolts went on to win the franchise’s first-ever PBA title, defeating the San Miguel Beermen in six games in the 2024 PBA Philippine Cup.

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“I think it was a really big thing for us to join the EASL (last season),” Bolts’ Head Coach Luigi Trillo said about returning to the EASL. “It toughened us up. We learned a lot from that experience … It’s a tough league. It’s a quality league. It’s with the best teams around Asia. We’re super excited to be back.”

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As one of three returning teams from last season, they have had their first taste of EASL action. Can they take their experience and improve their record from last season?‍

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Players to Watch‍

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Meralco Bolts (PBA)‍

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#11 Chris Newsome – SG

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• USA NCAA Division II: New Mexico Highlands (2008-11)
• Philippines NCAA UAAP: Ateneo de Manila (2013-14)
  • 2014 UAAP Mythical Team
• 2015 PBA Draft: 4th overall pick – Meralco Bolts
  • 2024 PBA Philippine Cup Champion
  • 2024 PBA Philippine Cup Finals MVP
  • 2x PBA All-Star (2023, 2024)
  • 2x PBA All-Defensive Team (2023, 2024)
  • 2016 PBA Rookie of the Year
  • 2016 PBA All-Rookie Team
  • 2017 PBA Slam Dunk Contest champion
• Philippines National Team
  • 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games (Gold)
  • 2023 Phnom Penh Southeast Asian Games (Gold)
• EASL 2023-24 Season stats:
  • 16.8 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 3.8 apg

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#7 Allen Durham – PF

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• USA NCAA Division II: Grace Bible College (2006-2011)
  • 3x NCCAA Champion (2009, 2010, 2011)
  • 3x NCCAA DII National Tournament MVP (2009, 2010, 2011)
  • Pete Maravich Memorial Award Recipient (2011)
  • 3x NCCAA DII 1st-Team All-American (2009, 2010, 2011)
  • Grace Bible's College All-Time Scoring Leader
  • Grace Bible's College All-Time Rebounding Leader
  • Grace Bible's College All-Time Blocks Leader
  • Grace Bible's College Hall of Famer (2018)
• Former NBA G League Player (Texas Legends)
• Philippines: PBA – Meralco Bolts
  • 3× PBA Best Import of the Conference (2016 Governors', 2017 Governors', 2019 Governors')
• France: LNB Pro B – Nantes
  • 2014 LNB Pro B Defensive Player of the Year
  • 2x LNB Pro B All-First Team (2014, 2015)
  • 2x LNB Pro B All-Imports Team (2014, 2015)
• Israel: Ligat HaAI – Hapoel Afula
  • 2014 Israeli National League All-Star
• Japan: B.LEAGUE – Ryukyu Golden Kings
  • 2023 B.LEAGUE Champion
  • 2023 B.LEAGUE Finals MVP
• EASL 2023-24 Season stats:
  • 17.0 ppg, 6.7 rpg, 5.3 apg

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#7 Cliff Hodge – PF

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• USA NCAA Division II: Hawaii Pacific (2008-09)
• 2012 PBA Draft: 4th overall pick – Meralco Bolts
  • 2024 PBA Philippine Cup Champion
  • 2024 PBA All-Star
  • 2x PBA Mythical Second Team (2017, 2024)
  • 3× PBA All-Defensive Team (2021, 2023, 2024)
• EASL 2023-24 Season stats:
  • 7.4 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 2.6 apg‍

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Macau Black Bears (Macau)‍

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#23 Samuel Deguara – C

• Former NBA G League Player (Erie BayHawks - 2015)
• Team History:
  • Italy: LBA (Benetton Basket – 2007-10; Pallacanestro Reggiana – 2012-13)
  • Spain: LEB Plata (Viten Getafe – 2014); Liga LCB (Fuenlabrada – 2014-15); Liga EBA (Ferrol – 2015)
  • Canada: CEBL (Niagara River Lions – 2016)
  • Malaysia: MBL (Farmcochem – 2017)
  • Thailand: ABL (Mono Vampire – 2018)
  • Hong Kong: HKBA/ABL (Hong Kong Eastern – 2018-19)
  • Chile: LNB (CEB Puerto Montt – 2019)
  • Philippines: ABL (San Miguel Alab Pilipinas – 2019-20)
  • Japan: B.LEAGUE (Tokyo Excellence – 2020-21)
  • Chinese Taipei: P. LEAGUE+ (Taipei Fubon Braves – 2021-22); T1 League (TaiwanBeer HeroBears – 2022; Tainan TSG GhostHawks – 2022-24)
  • China: CBL (Hong Kong Bulls – 2023)
  • Macau: EASL (Macau Black Bears – 2024-)

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#2 Will Artino – C

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• University: NCAA Division I – Creighton (2010-14)
• Team History:
  • Estonia: KML (AVIS UTILITAS Rapla – 2015-16)
  • Denmark: Basketligaen (Horsens IC – 2016-17)
  • Cyprus: OPAP Basketball League (APOP Paphos – 2017-18)
  • Romania: Liga I (Phoenix Galați – 2018)
  • Chinese Taipei: ABL (Dreamers – 2018-19); T1 League (Tainan TSG GhostHawks – 2021-22); P. LEAGUE+ (Hsinchu Toplus Lioneers – 2022-23)
  • Bahrain: BPL (Al-Muharraq – 2019)
  • Malaysia: ABL (Kuala Lumpur Dragons – 2019-20)
  • Mexico: LNBP (Panteras de Aguascalientes – 2020-21)
  • Macau: EASL (Macau Black Bears – 2024-)

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#4 Jenning Leung – PG

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• University: Canada CIS – McGill University
• Team History:
  • China: ABL (Zhuhai Wolf Warriors – 2018)
  • Macau: ABL/EASL (Macau Black Bears – 2019-)‍

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‍By the Numbers‍

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Meralco Bolts (Philippines – PBA)

• Team History:
  • Founded: 2010
  • Honors: 2024 PBA Philippine Cup Champions
• Meralco’s 2023-24 PBA Season — 2024 PBA Philippine Cup Champions
  • Elimination round record: 6-5
  • Finished 3rd in Elimination round
  • Defeated NLEX Road Warriors (2-0) in the quarterfinals; defeated Barangay Ginebra San Miguel (4-3) in the semifinals; defeated San Miguel Beermen (4-2) in finals
• EASL 2023-24 Season record: 1-5
  • November 15, 2023: 89-61 loss against Ryukyu Golden Kings (B.LEAGUE)
  • November 29, 2023: 97-92 loss against New Taipei Kings (P. LEAGUE+)
  • December 13, 2023: 97-88 win over Ryukyu Golden Kings (B.LEAGUE)
  • December 27, 2023: 81-80 loss against Seoul SK Knights (KBL)
  • January 3, 2024: 89-77 loss against New Taipei Kings (P. LEAGUE+)
  • February 7, 2024: 72-62 loss against Seoul SK Knights (KBL)
• EASL 2023-24 Season stat leaders:
  • Points: Chris Newsome – 16.8 ppg
  • Rebounds: Prince Ibeh – 9.0 rpg
  • Assists: Chris Newsome – 3.8 apg
  • Steals: Chris Newsome – 2.0 spg
  • Blocks: Prince Ibeh – 2.8 bpg
• EASL 2023-24 Season upcoming games:
  • Home vs. Macau Black Bears (Macau) – October 2, 2024
  • Away vs. Ryukyu Golden Kings (B.LEAGUE) – October 16, 2024
  • Home vs. Busan KCC Egis (KBL) – November 13, 2024
  • Away vs. Busan KCC Egis (KBL) – December 16, 2024
  • Home vs. Ryukyu Golden Kings (B.LEAGUE) – January 22, 2025
  • Away vs. New Taipei Kings (P. LEAGUE+) – February 12, 2025

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‍Macau Black Bears (Macau)

• Team History:
  • Founded: 2017
  • 2017-18 ASEAN Basketball League semifinalist
• EASL 2024-25 Season upcoming games:
  • Away vs. Meralco Bolts (PBA) – October 2, 2024
  • Away vs. New Taipei Kings (P. LEAGUE+) – October 23, 2024
  • Home vs. Ryukyu Golden Kings (B.LEAGUE) – October 30, 2024
  • Home vs. Busan KCC Egis (KBL) – November 6, 2024
  • Home vs. New Taipei Kings (P. LEAGUE+) – December 11, 2024
  • Away vs. Busan KCC Egis (KBL) – January 15, 2025