Taiwan’s P.League+ professional basketball league is to be represented at the inaugural season of the East Asia Super League (EASL), a basketball Champions League of Asia, which is to start with eight teams in October next year.
The champions from the P.League+, the champions and runners-up from Japan’s B.League, the Korean Basketball League and the Philippine Basketball Association, and the newly formed Hong Kong-based Bay Area Chun Yu Phoenixes, are to compete in the East Asia Super League for a US$1 million purse, the EASL said in a statement yesterday.
The eight teams are to be split into two groups of four, with each team to play home-and-away contests against the others in its group from October to February 2023.
Photo: Chen Chih-chu, Taipei Times
The top two teams in each group are then to play in a single elimination semi-final round, with the EASL championship game in March 2023.
The P.League+ is hoping that the association with a regional league will give it wider exposure.
“Our fans love high-level basketball and can’t get enough of it,” P.League+ founder and chief executive officer Blackie Chen said. “For the P.League+, EASL is an opportunity to grow our league and elevate its level through elite competition, while gaining exposure on a pan-regional stage.”
The P.League+, which was established last year, is Taiwan’s first professional basketball league since the Chinese Basketball Alliance shut down more than 20 years ago.
The first regular-season game in the Taiwanese league is scheduled for Saturday, with the Formosa Taishin Dreamers to play the Taipei Fubon Braves at the Taipei Heping Basketball Arena.
The other teams in the league are the Hsinchu JKO Lioneers, the Taoyuan Pilots, the New Taipei Kings and the Kaohsiung Steelers.
The EASL plans to position itself as the hub of East Asian basketball, bringing the best of the region’s club teams together in an elite competition, supported by long-term agreements with FIBA and Asia’s top leagues, EASL CEO Matt Beyer said.
“Our mission is to be East Asia’s premier basketball league, with a vision to be one of the top three leagues globally by 2025 in terms of fan base and commercial revenue,” Beyer said.
The Hong Kong club is to represent “the greater China region” in the initial version of the tournament, Beyer was cited as saying by the South China Morning Post.
However, the EASL expects to increase its number of teams to 16 by its third season, and teams from mainland China or other areas could be included, the league said in a statement.
The FIBA Asia Board is backing the formation of the EASL, FIBA executive director Asia Hagop Khajirian said.
“This new competition has the potential to enrich the road to the FIBA Asia Champions Cup, the continent’s highest club competition, and will act as good complement to it, providing a great basketball platform for clubs in the East Asia subzone of FIBA and the Philippines,” Khajirian said.
Former NBA stars Metta World Peace, Baron Davis and Shane Battier are on board as EASL brand ambassadors.
Each club is to be allowed two foreign imports plus an extra Asian import in 12-man rosters for each game.
However, there is to be a big emphasis on tapping local talent.
Additional reporting by AP
Jemimah Rodrigues on Thursday hit an unbeaten 127 as India pulled off a record chase of 339 against Australia to set up a Women’s World Cup final against South Africa. Rodrigues and skipper Harmanpreet Kaur, who hit 89, put on 167 runs for the third wicket as India won with nine balls and five wickets to spare at DY Patil Stadium, on the outskirts of Mumbai. The hosts finished on a total of 341-5 in reply to Australia’s impressive 338 and ensured there would be a new name on the 50-over trophy tomorrow. Amanjot Kaur hit the winning boundary to trigger wild celebrations
Jannik Sinner on Thursday eased past Francisco Cerundolo 7-5, 6-1 at the Paris Masters to set up a quarter-final clash with Ben Shelton, while reigning champion Alexander Zverev earned a straight-sets win over Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the third round. A maiden crown in the French capital would return Sinner to No. 1 in the world rankings after current incumbent Carlos Alcaraz suffered a shock early exit at the hands of Britain’s Cameron Norrie. The Italian four-time Grand Slam champion is yet to drop a set in the tournament as he hones in on what would be a fifth title of the
ANFIELD BLUES: Kylian Mbappe arrived at Anfield on a run of 21 goals in 17 games, but he managed just three attempts in the match, none of them hitting the target Kylian Mbappe has been nearly unstoppable this season, but he hit a roadblock in their UEFA Champions League match at Anfield on Tuesday. For the second year running, the Real Madrid forward had a night to forget at Merseyside as Liverpool won 1-0. Mbappe looked a shadow of the player who has been tearing defenses apart all season. “We were lacking that threat in the final third,” said Madrid coach Xabi Alonso, without naming Mbappe individually. The FIFA World Cup winner for France rarely looked capable of finding a breakthrough against a Liverpool team who have been so defensively fragile for much of the
LOCAL SUCCESS: In the doubles, Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia defeated Italians Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini in straight sets Elena Rybakina on Monday punched her ticket to the WTA Finals last four with an impressive 3-6, 6-1, 6-0 victory over second seed Iga Swiatek in round-robin play in Riyadh. After cruising past Amanda Anisimova in her opener on Saturday, Rybakina claimed her second win of the week to guarantee herself top spot in the Serena Williams Group. Anisimova on Monday rallied back from a set and a break down to triumph 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 in her all-American battle with seventh seed Madison Keys, who has been eliminated from the competition. “Madi was playing so well, it was quite a battle out there,”
RSS