MERALCO active consultant Nenad Vucinic said the Bolts will need to learn to play together quickly to get the best out of a squad led by former rivals turned teammates Justin Brownlee and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson in the EASL.
Excitement has built over the team-up of Brownlee and Hollis-Jefferson, two of the best imports in the PBA to date, in the 2025-26 season of the EASL where the Bolts will also be reinforced by Puerto Rico national player Ismael Romero.
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Vucinic said the three imports definitely are talented, but cautioned the Bolts will need to build cohesion with the limited time they wll have ahead of their season debut on October 22 against the Ryukyu Golden Kings in Okinawa, Japan.
Meralco also plays the Taoyuan Pauian Pilots on November 2 in another road game in Taiwan in Group B, which also has the Macau Black Bears as the fourth team.
“Getting Rondae and JB is a big help for us because we know the players very well. They know our team as well. It’s going to be very helpful. Thanks to Ginebra and Talk ‘N Text teams. Romero, we think, he is an experienced player that can help us a well,” said the Serbian mentor who is supervising Meralco’s EASL team.
“We are positive about the EASL this season. The reality is it’s a completely new team with three new players into our team. How quickly we can gel, how quickly we can build chemistry if we don’t have preseason games and tune-up games,” said Vucinic.
Scrimmage games for the Bolts’ EASL teams remain in question since the PBA 50th Season Philippine Cup will begin on October 5.
“We go straight into the games of the EASL season in Japan and Taiwan. If we go and lose both those games, it’s going to be very difficult for us. We have to try to win one of those,” said Vucinic.
The Meralco imports are expected to be in the country sometime in the first week of October to join the team. Romero recently saw action for the Libya club team Alahli SC in the FIBA Intercontinental Cup in Singapore.
Vucinic said it was important that Brownlee was picked up as a naturalized player which allowed Meralco to bring in more reinforcements.
“Last year, we had Ange Kouame. They have different positions so you can’t compare them. JB is a superstar here and a great player and a great person as well. For both Rondae and JB, we are quite happy to have them in our team,” said Vucinic.
Vucinic is also hoping for more fan support in Meralco’s EASL campaign.
“Hopefully, we’ll get some Ginebra fans,” said Vucinic.
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