The Meralco Bolts will take the spot of the Barangay Ginebra Kings in the 2023-24 East Asia Super League (EASL) which kicks off its home-and-away season on October 11.The Bolts were listed as the Kings' replacement in the latest news posted at the EASL's official website.The news update though did not indicate the reason for the Ginebra pullout.Meralco coach Luigi Trillo confirmed the Bolts' participation in the EASL tournament to the Manila Times on Friday, September 15.'It's truly an honor for us. Obviously Ginebra has begged off and we were just informed but for us. It's an honor.We're proud to represent the PBA and the country,' Trillo told the Manila Times.'We know it's not gonna be easy because teams there play with two imports, so we're gonna do this on the fly,' explained the Meralco coach.Trillo said the competition will be good for the Meralco players, knowing they'll be up against the top two Asian professional ball clubs from Japan, Korea and Taiwan.'It's good for Philippine basketball, and good for players to get the exposure to play quality teams, like the champions from each region,' he added.The Bolts have Commissioner's Cup import Feron Hunt for over a week already.Trillo said with the latest development, they intend to look for a big import so they can pair him with the former New York Knick forward for the EASL.Ginebra was the second ball club to drop out from the Asian regional league after the Hong Kong-based Bay Area Dragons disbanded due to financial difficulties.Taking the spot of the Dragons are the New Taipei Kings of the P.League+ from Taiwan, who will have former NBA champion Jeremy Lin pairing up with his younger brother Joseph in the team.Meralco is in Group B for the EASL tournament, along with Japan B.League champion Ryukyu Golden Kings, last season's Korean Basketball League runner-up Seoul SK Knights and the Kings.TNT, meantime, is in Group A with KBL defending champion Anyang KGC, P.League+ champion Taipei Futon Braves and B.League runner-up Chiba Jets.