The Meralco Bolts could not complete a comeback and absorbed a 77-74 defeat against the Ryukyu Golden Kings in the East Asia Super League (EASL) on Wednesday night, October 16, at the Okinawa Arena in Japan.

A huge second quarter wherein they scored 28 points allowed the Golden Kings to build a 51-35 lead — enough to weather a late charge from the visitors.

Yoshiya Uematsu, Masahiro Waki, Yoshiyuki Matsuwaki, and Ryuichi Kishimoto found their rhythm from long range, while import Victor Law and naturalized player Alex Kirk held the fort inside the paint for Ryukyu.

Law, a former Orlando Magic player, finished with a double-double of 18 points and 12 rebounds, while fellow import Jack Cooley also had 18 and seven boards.

Uematsu and Matsuwaki each had nine points and banked in a three pointer each along with Wakiand Kishimoto during that second quarter breakaway.

It was the first loss for the Bolts in the EASL, as they opened their campaign with a 97-85 triumph over Macau last October 2 at the Mall of Asia Arena.

DJ Kennedy fired 30 points and grabbed 12 rebounds for Meralco, while Chris Newsome added 18 points.

However, the Bolts badly missed the presence of veteran forward Cliff Hodge together with injured players Allein Maliksi and CJ Cansino.

Hodge stayed in Manila to be with his wife, who had just given birth to their first child.

Allen Durham, who used to play for Ryukyu in the B.League, teamed up with Kennedy and Bong Quinto to bring the Bolts within three points, 77-74, with 20 seconds to go.

Unfortunately, for the Bolts, his attempt from long range just missed its mark at the buzzer.

In the other game at F-pico Arena in Fukuyama, reigning B. League champion Hiroshima Dragonflies also had a rousing EASL debut with a 78-67 win over new team Hong Kong Eastern. (ABS-CBN News)