By Ivan Saldajeno

MANILA--Meralco failed to sustain a second-quarter brilliance and let Deshawndre Washington put on a show for host club Shabab Al Ahli for a 101-87 win in their Basketball Champions League Asia clash on Saturday night at the Sheikh Saeed Bin Maktoum Sports Hall in Dubai.

Meralco came alive in the second quarter, even opening an 11-point lead before settling for a 56-53 advantage at halftime behind a solid first half from Chris Newsome.

However, with Washington on fire, Shabab Al Ahli turned on the jets in the second half, holding Meralco to just 31 points in the last 20 minutes to pull away for good.

Washington finished with 40 points on 12-for-20 shooting, seven rebounds, six assists, four steals, and one block for Shabab Al Ahli, which gained a headstart in Group B action.

Jermaine Love added 22 points, two rebounds, two assists, and two steals as the Dubai-based club prevailed despite only six players scoring.

Jordon Varnado led Meralco with 19 points, eight rebounds, two assists, and three steals, while Newsome, who went for 13 points in the first half, only got two the rest of the way.

Meralco must now beat Utsunomiya on Sunday night to get an outright quarterfinal seat, as another loss could put them in danger of being the only team to be eliminated after the group stages.

Earlier, Ulaanbaatar stunned Zhejiang, 84-67, in Group A action.

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