After years of clashing as rivals in the PBA and on the international stage, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson and Justin Brownlee may soon find themselves on the same side -- this time wearing the Meralco Bolts' colors in the East Asia Super League (EASL).
Meralco head coach Luigi Trillo confirmed to ESPN that the team is interested in a potential pairing of the star imports.
"When Coach Nenad [Vucinic] comes back and we start practice, we still reconvene and discuss by September 1," Meralco head coach Luigi Trillo said.
While Trillo emphasized that no final decision has been made, he admitted the intrigue of having both players is hard to ignore: "Who wouldn't want those two though?"
Meralco will again represent the PBA in Asia's premier regional club competition, and the prospect of parading two of the league's most electrifying imports has been floated. The development was first reported by Spin.ph.
Last season, the team fielded naturalized player Ange Kouame alongside imports Akil Mitchell and DJ Kennedy.
Hollis-Jefferson, currently TNT's resident reinforcement, is a logical candidate given the sister-team ties within the MVP Group. The versatile forward has established himself as one of the PBA's most dominant imports in recent memory, leading TNT to three championships.
On the other hand, Brownlee has long been a nemesis of Meralco, having powered Barangay Ginebra to multiple playoff wins against them -- including several Finals encounters. A six-time PBA champion, his potential addition would give Meralco a lethal combination of firepower and veteran poise.
Meralco will be aiming to improve on their last EASL campaign, where they finished with a 2-4 record - just one win short of advancing to the postseason.