The San Miguel Beermen fell short in their comeback bid in the fourth quarter, as Eastern pulled away for its first win in the 2024-25 EASL tournament.
The San Miguel Beermen failed to secure their first win in the 2024-25 East Asia Super League (EASL) after falling to Eastern, 62-71, at Southorn Stadium in Hong Kong, on Wednesday, December 18.
The Beermen are now 0-3 in their second EASL campaign, while Eastern moved to 1-2 for fourth in Group A.
The Filipinos saw themselves down early in the game after a scorching hot start by Eastern led by Chris McLaughlin and Kobey Lam for a 28-14 first-quarter lead.
Eastern continued to hold its lead despite the efforts of newly-signed import Torrent Jones and June Mar Fajardo for San Miguel.
In the fourth quarter, SMB managed to chop the lead to just two points at 58-60 after a tough turn-around shot by Fajardo.
However, just when the momentum looked like it was on San Miguel’s side, Lam came alive as he scored five of Eastern’s 9-0 run.
Eastern would go on to secure a commanding lead and in turn, their first win in the EASL.
Lam led the way for the Hong Kong-based squad with 19 points, three rebounds, and one assist. McLaughlin also had a strong outing with 16 markers and 17 boards.
Eastern will face Suwon KT Sonicboom next on January 7 still at the Southorn Stadium.
Fajardo and Jones had 19 points apiece for San Miguel, while CJay Perez had eight points in just 18 minutes of action.
San Miguel will look to finally secure their first win in the EASL as they go up against the Hiroshima Dragonflies on January 8 at the Hiroshima Sun Plaza in Japan.