CEBU CITY – Rondae Hollis-Jefferson put on a show for the Cebuanos with his play on both ends to lift Meralco to its second straight win in the EASL 2025-26 season, beating Macau Black Bears, 92-74, at the Cebu Coliseum.
Hollis-Jefferson had 34 points and was hands down the most popular among the Bolts, entertaining the crowd with his dunks including one in the 4:38-mark of the third over Macau’s Jalon Miller to give them a 64-49 lead.
RHJ also had two slams in the second quarter where the Bolts outscored the Black Bears, 23-14, to gain some cushion.
Hollis-Jefferson also had 11 rebounds, five assists, and two blocks for Meralco including a three-point play with 2:32 left in the contest for an 83-74 lead, weathering the storm after a late comeback by Macau.
The towering Meralco electric post
Ismael Romero also joined forces with Hollis-Jefferson, putting on a monster game of 25 points and 28 rebounds for the Bolts.
Romero’s rebounding total is a new EASL group stage record, surpassing the 22 made by Meralco import Akil Mitchell in the Bolts’ 81-180 win over Busan KCC Egis on November 13, 2024 at the Philsports Arena, and Chiba’s John Mooney in the Jets’ 102-69 win over Anyang on December 13, 2023.
Macau lost in its first game of the season.
“We did a great job off the boards and to the basket, we had 68 points in the paint. We outrebounded them,” said Meralco active consultant Nenad Vucinic.
“Quite heavily, it was a difficult game for both teams because they have a new coach that came in a week ago. They have five new players. It was difficult for us as well because we don’t know who we are playing as well. It was great that we got this win,” said Vucinic.
Meralco will play Macau again on December 6 on the road.
The scores:
Meralco 92 – Hollis-Jefferson 34, Romero 25, Banchero 12, Vahedi 10, Newsome 7, Hodge 2, Quinto 2, Caram 0, Kouame 0.
Macau Black Bears 74 – Chong Qui 25, Peek-Green 14, Miller 14, Runfeng 13, Shackelford 8, Weiyi 0, Yuchen 0, Guoliang 0, Pong 0.
Quarters: 25-24; 48-38; 65-52; 92-74.
Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph
NOTICE ON UNAUTHORIZED AND UNLAWFUL USE, PUBLICATION, AND/OR DISSEMINATION OF SPIN.PH CONTENT: Please be notified that any unauthorized and unlawful use, publication, and/or dissemination of Spin.ph’s content and/or materials is a direct violation of its legal and exclusive rights to the same, and shall be subject to appropriate legal action/s.
