Photo credit: East Asia Super League
The 2022-23 KBL season Runners-up, Seoul SK Knights (2-2), narrowly escaped past the host Meralco Bolts (1-3), securing an 81-80 victory to grab their second win in the 2023-24 EASL Home and away season on Wednesday, December 27 at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig.
SK Knights import Jameel Warney, who has been a force in the EASL this season, averaging a league-high 42 points per game before this match, topscored for the Knights with 31 points on 11-of-31 shooting along with 7 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals, and a block.
In his homecoming game, Filipino import Juan Gómez de Liaño, a former UP student-athlete and the former MVP of the PBA D-League Aspirant's Cup 2022, finished with 4 points (1/2 3pt, 1/2ft), and 1 assist in 4 minutes of play. Youngjun An had a solid game of 19 points on 5-of-10 shooting from beyond the arc, to go with 5 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals.
In a losing effort, import Zach Lofton led the Bolts with a game-high 32 points (11/19FG, 4/9 3pts, 6/9ft), 7 rebounds, and 2 assists. Import Prince Ibeh had a double-double performance of 13 points, 11 rebounds, 1 assist and 4 blocks while Chris Newsome added 13 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists and 4 steals.
The Bolts slide to the bottom of the standings in Group B with 1 win and 3 losses, while the Knights improve to 2 wins and 2 losses, tied at number 2 with Ryukyu Golden Kings, while the undefeated New Taipei Kings (2-0) are on top of Group B.
The Meralco Bolts will be back in EASL action and will host former NBA player Jeremy Lin and the New Taipei Kings on Wednesday, January 3, 2024 at 7:00PM at the Philsports Arena. [BUY TICKETS]
The Scores:
SK KNIGHTS 81 - Warney 31, An 19, Williams 7, S Kim 7, J Oh 6, Gómez de Liaño 4, W Choi 3, B Choi 2, Young 2.
MERALCO 80 - Lofton 32, Ibeh 13, Newsome 13, Hodge 8, Black 6, Banchero 5, Bates 2, Quinto 1, Almazan 0, Rios 0, Torres 0.
Quarters: 20-20, 45-33, 64-56, 81-80. [GAME STATS] | [HIGHLIGHTS]