JARED Dillinger’s vlog inside the PBA bubble was such a big hit that management of the East Asia Super League (EASL) expects the same if and when reigning Philippine Cup champion Barangay Ginebra takes its act to the region’s first club basketball championship league.
EASL Chief Executive Officer Matt Beyer said as the most popular ballclub in the PBA, the Kings are certain to bring in the crowd and at the same, display the same ‘never-say-die’ spirit that has been their trademark and gave them their 13th league championship in the recent Clark bubble.
During the same campaign, the EASL partnered with the 6-foot-4 Dillinger, the Barangay Ginebra veteran guard/forward, who chronicled his journey along with the rest of the Kings inside the only bubble tournament to be played around Asia.
Dillinger’s vlog for the entire conference was made into a four-part series and shown in the ‘EASL CAM’ which reached over 1.1 million people around the region and generated over 200,000 video plays.
Following Barangay Ginebra’s championship run and TnT Tropang Giga’s runner-up finish, Blackwater team owner Dioceldo Sy, who is EASL business development head, has offered to personally endorse before the PBA Board for the Kings and the Tropang Giga to be the country’s two representatives in the regional league’s new season beginning this October.
“EASL humbly recognizes the PBA as one of the top competitions in the region and an ideal founding member for the EASL’s launch,” said Beyer in a statement. “Barangay Ginebra and TnT Tropang Giga have proven themselves as two of the top teams in the Philippines. Both team’s rosters are stacked with legendary players and rising stars.”
The PBA has yet to make a final decision but has shown deep interest in participating after Beyer made a powerful presentation during the Board’s final meeting in 2020.
But PBA ballclubs had already been playing in the EASL the past three years during the pre-COVID-19 days, the last of which came in 2019 when San Miguel, TnT, and Blackwater represented the country in the week-long meet in Macau.
The Beermen went as far as making the semifinals where they lost to eventual champion Liaoning Flying Leopards, who are reinforced by former NBA player Lance Stepheson.
“We look forward to exposing the world to the dynamic and upbeat style of basketball PBA teams are known for,” said Beyer.
The restructured EASL will be relaunched this October under a 10-year exclusive agreement with FIBA and features the best professional club teams from China, South Korea, Japan, and the Philippines.
The eight teams – two from each country – are divided into two groups of four. Each group will play a round-robin format, where each team plays those within its group in a home-and-away set-up.
The top two teams in each group will advance to the Final Four, where the two surviving teams will play for the championship that offers a prize money of $1 million.
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