ELECTRIFYING DUO

If plans don’t miscarry, Justin Brownlee and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson — two of the best imports of this generation — will be teaming up to power Meralco in the East Asia Super League (EASL).

A Meralco insider told DAILY TRIBUNE that they have already reached a deal to bring in Brownlee as their naturalized player in the prestigious tournament that features the powerhouse international squads.

The resident import of Barangay Ginebra is already committed after San Miguel Corporation made his services available since the Philippine Basketball Association will be having its Philippine Cup by the time the EASL tips off on 8 October in Taipei and Tokyo.

The Bolts will start their season against the Ryukyu Golden Kings on 22 October.

They will formally announce his inclusion in their roster in the next two weeks, cementing a deal that seems unimaginable at first since Brownlee is considered a franchise nemesis due to his clutch performances in their previous finals showdowns from the Governors’ Cup in 2016 until the Commissioner’s Cup last year.

The source said Brownlee will serve as their naturalized player and will be teaming up with two imports — one of them will be Hollis-Jefferrson, the resident import of TNT Tropang 5G.

Hollis-Jefferson is on an exclusive one-year deal with TNT. But this exclusive agreement can be waived upon the Bolts’ request since they are a sister team of the Tropang 5G under the umbrella of Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas chairman emeritus Manny Pangilinan.

The deal, however, is not yet final, but the TRIBUNE source stressed that they are “hoping for the best.”

“We’re working on it and hoping for the best,” the source said, referring to their request of having Hollis-Jefferrson as one of their two imports in the EASL.

“As for Brownlee, we’re really thankful to SMC for making him available. He is one of the best imports who have played in the PBA and we’re very optimistic that he can help us win the country’s first EASL title.”

Bronwlee and Hollis-Jefferson are tipped to form a power duo.

With nine PBA crowns and six Best Import Awards between them, Brownlee and Hollis-Jefferson can provide the firepower, maturity and veteran experience that the Bolts need to survive the challenges of foreign clubs from clubs from Japan, Hong Kong, South Korea, Macau, Mongolia and Chinese Taipei.

They also have the necessary international experience as Bronwlee is serving as a naturalized player for Gilas Pilipinas while Hollis-jefferson competes for Jordan. In fact, they shook the 19th Asian Games to its very core when their squads — Philippines and Jordan — clashed for the gold medal of men’s basketball event in 2023.

But more than that, their popularity will be a major boost to Meralco, and the EASL as a whole.

PBA teams have struggled in the previous editions of the EASL. The Bolts, in fact, had won only once in the 2023-2024 season in which they defeated the Golden Kings in Macau.

Last season, Meralco fell one win shy of becoming the first PBA team to enter the semifinals of the EASL after going 2-4 in the group stage.

The Bolts came up short against the New Taipei Kings in the final game of the season following a heartbreaking double-overtime loss in February, 96-106.

“With Justin and, possibly Rondae, around, I hope we do better this season,” the source said, speaking on condition of anonymity pending the announcement of their final roster.