MACAU – The best basketball club in the continent is set to be known as the 2025 East Asia Super League Final Four tips off over the weekend at the Studio City Event Center.
Here are what you need to know:
WHO’S IN: FINAL FOUR TEAMS
The top two teams from each of the two groups clinched spots in the semifinals. After winning all but one of their six games, the Hiroshima Dragonflies and the Ryukyu Golden Kings emerged atop their respective groups.
The Dragonflies, the 2023-24 Japan B.League champions, topped Group A and will face Group B second seed New Taipei Kings of Taiwan in the crossover semifinal, while another Japan-Taiwan battle is set in the other pairing where the Golden Kings take on the Taoyuan Pilots.
WHO’S OUT: PH TEAMS
PBA teams will have to watch from afar the level of basketball they still have to reach to stand toe-to-toe with Asia’s finest after Meralco and San Miguel failed to advance out of their respective groups. The Bolts finished with a 3-3 win-loss card – good for only a tie for third place in Group B, while the Beermen wound up as the only winless team in the 10-team tournamen through six games in Group A.
WHEN AND WHERE:
The playoffs start on Friday at the 5,000-seat Studio City Event Center. Hiroshima and New Taipei herald the Final Four at 6:30 p.m. followed by the Ryukyu-Taoyuan faceoff at 9 o’clock.
The losers will take on each other in the third-place game on Sunday at 4 p.m. as the appetizer to the championship game at 7 o’clock.
WHAT’S AT STAKE:
Even without Pinoy teams, there’s still reason to watch the Final Four. What makes it exciting is despite earning the top seeds, Hiroshima and Ryukyu enter the semifinals without incentives as they play knockout games against their opponents.
Apart from bragging rights as arguably the best basketball team in Asia, a lucrative prize awaits the last team standing as it takes home a cool US$1 million prize. Finishing runner-up isn’t too shabby with a US$500K prize, while the third-placer also won’t go home empty-handed with a US$250K prize.
HOW HIROSHIMA GOT HERE:
After ruling their domestic league, the Dragonflies started the EASL with a 2-1 record, before winning their last three games to gain momentum heading into the playoffs.
Dwayne Evans has been carrying the offensive load with a team-best 26 points per game along with two blocks, while Kerry Blackshear has been stuffing the stat sheet by leading the team in rebounds (11.4), assists (5.4), and steals (1.8).
HOW RYUKYU GOT HERE:
Behind guard Ryuichi Kishimoto and forward Jack Cooley, the Golden Kings went undefeated in their first four games to become the first team to book a Final Four ticket on Christmas Day. Then, they sustained their only loss in the competition, a shock 99-63 defeat at the hands of eventual semifinal foe New Taipei last January. The Golden Kings ended the regular on a high with an 89-71 win over Meralco.
HOW NEW TAIPEI GOT HERE:
Even with NBA veteran Jeremy Lin showing the way, the Kings started slowly with a 1-2 record, before ending the eliminations with three successive victories to become the first EASL team to make it to back-to-back semifinal appearances. They saved their best for last, scoring a 106-96 win over Meralco on the last day of the regular season last February 6 to put an end to the Bolts’ own Final Four campaign.
The Kings are looking to improve their fourth-place finish from the inaugural season last year as they turn to Kenny Manigault, who leads them in rebounding (9.8), assists (5), and steals (3.8).
HOW TAOYUAN GOT HERE:
The Pilots, the P.League+ runner-up, started the group stage strongly by winning their first three games, but lost back-to-back games to eventual Group A top seed Hiroshima. With a semifinal berth on the line, they delivered with a win over Hong Kong Eastern.
Treveon Graham is the straw that stirs the offense, averaging team-highs of 24 points and 4.8 assists per game.
WHERE TO WATCH:
Both gamedays are broadcast live on One Sports+ and Pilipinas Live. Over at One Sports, the Hiroshima-New Taipei matchup will be aired live, while the Ryukyu-Taoyuan game will be shown on a delayed basis on Saturday at 8 p.m. The third-place and championship games will also be aired a day later on Monday night at 7 p.m. and 9 o’clock, respectively.
WHAT THEY SAID:
EASL CEO Henry Kerins on the EASL Final Four 2025 – “(It’s) the pinnacle event for Asian club basketball. From the very beginning, our vision has been to create something unprecedented – uniting Asia through top-level basketball. This season marked another significant step toward that goal.”
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