With Rondae Hollis-Jefferson and Justin Brownlee, the Meralco Bolts are trying to be the first PBA team to reach an EASL semifinals for the first time since 2019.
The import cast is complete for Meralco.
Beloved Rondae Hollis-Jefferson and Justin Brownlee will reinforce the Bolts in the 2025-2026 season of the East Asia Super League.
Meralco team manager Paolo Trillo confirmed the news Thursday, September 11.
Hollis-Jefferson and Brownlee figured in two hotly-contested Finals in the PBA Season 49 which saw the former prevail each time.
Now they are teaming up to help Meralco put Philippine basketball back on the map in the EASL where no Filipino team has made the knockout stages over the last two years of the home-and-away format.
Meralco is the lone Philippine representative in the tournament.
Also reinforcing the Bolts is Ismael Romero, a member of the Puerto Rican national team.
Meralco bunched together with Japan B.LEAGUE powerhouse Ryukyu Golden Kings, Taoyuan Pilots, and Macau Black Bears in Group B.
The Bolts will visit Okinawa on October 22 where they will face home team Golden Kings to start off the season.
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Like most sportswriters, Jan Ballesteros once dreamed of becoming a professional hooper. But he learned the hard way that it’s not for everyone.
He continues to be involved in the sport he loves, but this time as a member of the PBA Press Corps. Aside from primarily covering the PBA, he is also assigned to cover Gilas Pilipinas.