DUBAI (United Arab Emirates) - Ulaanbaatar Xac came alive in the second half to show Meralco the door, 83-78, and barge into the BCL Asia 2025 Semi-Finals, Wednesday at the Coca-Cola Arena.
The Broncos flipped an eight-point deficit late in the third quarter and went on to lead by as many as 11 before needing to ward off the Bolts' comeback on the way to ensuring that their magical run continues.
A squad defined by breakthroughs this season, the BCL Asia-East 2025 champions have become the first-ever team from Mongolia to reach the said stage in the continent's most prestigious club competition.
"I'm really happy to be part of this Broncos club," expressed head coach Ariunbold Erdene. "We have been working so hard every day, and this is the result of the past couple of years of our hard work."
Ian Miller time and again presided over the triumph, finishing with a game-high 32 points alongside 3 rebounds, and 6 assists as the crafty guard bannered their massive turnaround after the halftime intermission.
He helped put together and cap off a crucial 13-0 scoring spree toward a 61-55 lead in the third and they would remain in the driver's seat, before leading another huge assault early in the deciding chapter.
Miller nailed a floater and then knocked down a big trey, and Barsbold Baatar Erdene came in with a bucket of his own as Ulaanbaatar established a 70-59 lead with less than eight minutes remaining.
But the opposition refused to throw in the towel, coming back strong to cut the deficit down to just a field goal, 80-78, following a split from the free throw line by Bong Quinto with 1:09 to go.
That, however, proved to be their last hurrah, with Saruul-erdene Enkhbaatar and young winger Azbayar Altangerel combining to shoot three of four free throws inside the final 18.8 seconds to finish the match.
Azbayar registered 10 points, 4 rebounds, and a steal - all without committing a single turnover in the 27 minutes and 44 seconds he saw action on the floor. Jordan Tolbert chipped in 10 points as well for the Broncos.
"I'm proud of my teammates. Also, we made history for Mongolian basketball. Being part of that, we're really happy with that," said Azbayar, who was one of BCL Asia-East's most exciting players due to his athleticism.
With the win, the 2024-25 The League champions have forged a Semi-Final duel against the Utsunomiya Brex, who booked the first ticket to the said round after ousting FIBA WASL 2025 runners-up Tabiat earlier.
Leading Meralco, on the other hand, was Jordon Varnado with 23 points and 14 rebounds. Glynn Watson finished with 22 points, 5 rebounds, and 7 assists, on top of 3 steals and a block for a full line.
Quinto supplied 12 points on 5-of-6 shooting from the field while John Egbunu added 10 points and 8 rebounds in the loss that foiled the team's bid of returning to the Semi-Finals after doing so in 2018.
FIBA