JB-RHJ plus Puerto Rican big lead Meralco charge
LAS VEGAS—Meralco will be doing its best to help the PBA celebrate its 50th Season with a bang—although the Bolts will be doing it in an entirely different league.
“For the PBA, we will be giving it our best to finally win the EASL (East Asia Super League),” Meralco board member Bill Pamintuan told the Inquirer during a break in the league’s annual planning session here. “We will leave no stones unturned, that we can promise.”
By leaving no stones unturned, a dream partnership between fierce competitors Justin Brownlee of Barangay Ginebra and TNT’s Rondae Hollis-Jefferson (RHJ) will happen for the event, with Brownlee to play as a naturalized player and RHJ as one of its two imports allowed by tournament rules.
In an appearance at the Philippine Sportswriters Association last Tuesday, Norman Black, who will coach Gilas Pilipinas in the Southeast Asian Games and who used to handle Meralco in the PBA, also confirmed that Brownlee and Hollis-Jefferson will team up for the EASL.
That second import’s spot will go to Ismael Romero, a 6-foot-10 member of the Puerto Rican national squad who will be asked to man the paint for the Bolts.
Meralco still has Gilas Pilipinas regular Chris Newsome spearheading its nucleus and a reliable local lineup led by Raymond Almazan, Chris Banchero, Cliff Hodge, among others. The Bolts in 2024 broke through as PBA champions by winning the Philippine Cup, thanks in large part to Newsome.
There are also ongoing negotiations for an Asian import—which is also allowed—though Pamintuan would like to keep the identity of “that prolific point guard” under wraps until everything has been finalized.
Meralco came close to making the semifinals of the last EASL only to lose in double overtime to Jeremy Lin and Chinese Taipei in Taiwan, a bitter loss that still has its effects on the local core of the squad.
The EASL dangles a prize of US $1 million to the champion, and Pamintuan said management is ready to hand the entire amount to all members of the team should that happen.
“We want to win the tournament,” added Pamintuan, who expressed excitement about the Brownlee-RHF team-up before saying that Romero will be a key element in the tournament.
“He’s a very good big man from what I hear from [our] coaching staff,” Pamintuan said. “This (EASL) will be a big tournament for us. We want to win it for the country and for the PBA, of course.”
