The Meralco Bolts began their 2025 Basketball Champions League Asia campaign with a disappointing 101-87 loss to Shabab Al Ahli on Saturday night at the Sheikh Saeed Bin Maktoum Sports Hall in Dubai.
The Bolts lost a double-digit lead in the second quarter and struggled to contain the duo of Deshawndre Washington and Jeremiah Love in the second half. With this defeat, Meralco starts Group B at 0-1, facing a crucial match against B.League champions Utsunomiya Brex on Sunday.
Reinforcements Glynn Watson and Jordon Varnado led the Bolts with 19 points each, while Chris Newsome contributed 15 points. However, Meralco could not maintain a 54-43 lead with just three minutes left in the second quarter. Washington returned to the game and ignited a 10-2 run for Shabab Al Ahli, narrowing the gap to 56-53 by halftime.
Washington scored the go-ahead basket to put Shabab Al Ahli ahead 70-68 in the third quarter, and the team steadily pulled away in the final period.
“I’m so proud of how we reacted in the second half,” said coach Miodrag Perisic. “D-Wash led us, he was really, today, super involved playing defense and offense. I used 11 players in this game and everybody played their roles. I’m very happy.”
Washington finished with an impressive 40 points, making 12 of his 20 field goals, while Love added 22 points to secure a comfortable win for the hosts. Meralco must defeat Utsunomiya on Sunday to keep their quarterfinals hopes alive.