DUBAI (United Arab Emirates) - Meralco no longer waited for their fate to lie in the hands of others.
The Bolts emerged triumphant in a must-win situation, taking down Utsunomiya by way of a 97-86 decision to clinch a berth in the Basketball Champions League Asia (BCL Asia) 2025 Quarter-Finals, Sunday night.
Coming off a tough loss to Shabab Al Ahli some 24 hours ago, the PBA outfit chose to move on and tackled the new day head-on, And that approach, without a doubt, did wonders, most especially for their campaign.
The wards of Coach Nenad Vucinic, similar to their meeting versus the hosts, took the lead in the second chapter as well. But the difference, simply, was consistency as they kept the upper hand the rest of the way.
Meralco scored 30 points in the said quarter for a 50-38 halftime lead, maintained being ahead in the third, and then broke away for good in the fourth to build a wall that proved high enough to beat the Brex.
And as the buzzer sounded to their 11-point triumph, the Philippine-based ball club would go on to celebrate its feat with the solid Filipino crowd that watched at the Sheikh Saeed Bin Maktoum Sports Hall live.
The Bolts have become the third team to reach the Quarter-Finals after Group A sides Tabiat and the Ulaanbaatar Xac Broncos, both of which formalized their entry after the former beat the Zhejiang Guangsha Lions earlier.
"We wanted to make the Quarter-Finals," said Vucinic. "We were worried, honestly, to lose this game."
"There was a big chance that we wouldn't make it. It was a very difficult game for us. It was a pressure-packed game. But I think we showed that we can perform under pressure," added the veteran mentor.
A total of five players finished in double figures for Meralco, with Jordon Varnado tallying 17 points, 8 rebounds, and 6 assists. The backcourt tandem of Chris Banchero and Glynn Watson produced 17 points apiece also.
Banchero and Watson bannered their hot second frame, together leading a 10-4 rally - capped off by a Raymond Almazan bucket from point-blank range - to build a 48-33 lead with 1:23 left in the period.
Utsunomiya cut the gap to seven during the next quarter but Cliff Hodge came in to help restore order, converting much of his points from underneath the rim to give the Bolts a 75-62 lead before the third ended.
Their lead would rise to its highest at 20, 89-69, courtesy of Hodge as well with 4:37 left to play.
Hodge delivered 16 points on a near-perfect shooting night as he missed just once in the eight shots he took. John Egbunu registered a double-double with 12 points and 13 rebounds off the bench in the balanced attack.
Now, Meralco will wait for the Group Phase's final standings and the draw to determine the pairings for the Quarter-Finals, which will be played on June 12 at the Coca-Cola Arena - the Final Phase venue.
Isaac Fotu, meanwhile, had 20 points and 6 rebounds for the Brex. Finn Delany made 14 points and 6 rebounds. DJ Newbill had 13 points, 5 rebounds, and 8 assists while Makoto Hiejima added 11 points.
With the sorry loss, the 2024-25 B.League champions will have to win against Shabab Al Ahli (1-0) in the Group Phase's last day on Monday, June 9, to keep their Quarter-Final aspirations alive.
FIBA