Eastern passes initial test

MANILA, Philippines —  The jury’s still out on PBA Commissioner’s Cup guest team Eastern but even as the Hong Kong team isn’t as formidable as the Bay Area Dragons on paper, it’s competitive and a serious playoff contender. Eastern got off to a poor 0-2 start in EASL this season yet looked tough in trouncing Phoenix, 102-87, to open its PBA campaign on a hot note at the PhilSports Arena last Wednesday.

Coach Mensur Bajramovic, 59, downplayed the win, noting that Eastern is still getting used to PBA’s physicality and rules but gutted it out. He said Eastern is a stranger to the international stage with limited competition in Hong Kong. Eastern made heads turn in crushing the Fuel Masters with former Bay Area Dragons Hayden Blankley, Glen Yang and Kobey Lam combining for 16 points in the fourth quarter. The team was reinforced by two Hong Kong national players who saw action against Gilas here last Sunday – Ka Hin Leung and Yuet Yeung Pok.  Another national player Shih Wah Leung is in the Eastern lineup.

Plans are on the table for Eastern to play back-to-back Commissioner’s Cups with the  next edition featuring a home-and-away format. Eastern will play its home games at the brand new 10,000-seat Indoor Sports Center in the Kai Tak Sports Park.

Under PBA rules, Eastern may replace original import Cameron Clark if injured. Clark could be reactivated once but his replacement is unable to return.  In EASL, Eastern plays two imports together Clark and 6-10 Chris McLaughlin. In the PBA, Eastern is allowed to play two of three Chinese foreign-born players at the same time. The three are Blankley and Cao, both born in Australia and Lam, born in Canada.