WILL star-studded San Miguel Beer get another shot at the East Asia Super League (EASL)?
The PBA on Wednesday disclosed its teams will be seeing action anew in the 2024-25 season of the regional league, but did not identify yet as to which teams will represent Asia’s first pioneering pro league.
Commissioner Willie Marcial said he already had an initial meeting with EASL CEO Henry Kerins, but no concrete agreement was made.
Kerins was in the country over the weekend and was a guest of Marcial during the deciding Game 7 of the Meralco-Barangay Ginebra semifinals series.
As it is, the Beermen appeared to be the logical choice as one of two teams from the PBA as they made the finals for the entire season and won the Commissioner’s Cup title.
San Miguel already played in the EASL during its 2022-23 season, but never advanced past the eliminations of Champions Week as it lost its two games including a 55-point drubbing against Rhenz Abando and Anyang KGC.
But Marcial said he has yet to finalize everything with Kerins and the EASL.
He added a meeting with the top EASL official will be held again next week.
“Magme-meeting ulit kami next week kung paano, kelan yung schedule, and kung sinong teams,” said Marcial during a pre-finals presser Wednesday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
“Kung paano ang format, kung paano ang tulungan. pero at least okay kami. Okay na tayo sa EASL.”
Last season, TNT and Meralco – which replaced Barangay Ginebra – were the two PBA teams which competed in the EASL, but never earned a berth in the Final Four,
Right now, the PBA is the only league which has yet to name the two teams that will play in the home-and-away tournament.
Confirmed to be competing in the 2024-25 EASL season are the Ryukyu Golden Kings and Hiroshima Dragonflies from the B. League, the Busan KCC Egis and Suwon KT Sonicboom from the KBL, and the New Taipei Kings and Taoyuan Pauian Pilots from the P.League+.
The Chiba Jets of the Japan B. League won the last championship by defeating the KBL’s Seoul SK Knights, 72-69, at the Hoops Dome in Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu last March.
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