EASL draw set in Manila

MANILA, Philippines — The East Asia Super League (EASL) will hold its inaugural season draw in the Shangri-La at the Fort Manila, BGC, on June 28 with FIBA executive director for Asia and FIBA Asia secretariat CEO Hagop Khajirian attending the ceremony. Eight teams – two each from Japan, Korea, Greater China and the Philippines – will play in the league with the PBA represented by the top two finishers of the ongoing Philippine Cup.

EASL CEO Matt Beyer said the champion in each domestic league will be given the right to choose the coin side with the winner of the flip placed in Group A and the other in Group B. Since the Philippine Cup finalists are still to be determined, PBA teams will be designated as A and B in the draw. Representatives of the Japanese B.League, Korean Basketball League, P.League+ of Taiwan and Bay Area Dragons of Greater China are confirmed to join the event. The PBA Board of Governors, PBA commissioner Willie Marcial and the PBA management committee have been invited to the ceremony. The Dragons will be based in Manila starting Aug. 1 with their home games played here. They will be a guest PBA team eligible to vie for the championship in the coming Commissioner’s Cup.

In the EASL, the eight teams will be divided into two groups of four. Each plays a home-and-away game against teams within its group. During the group stage, each team plays six games. Then, the top two teams in each bracket advance to the Final Four with the winners playing for the $1 million first prize in the final.

Beyer welcomed the appointment of Barangay Ginebra PBA governor Alfrancis Chua as member of the EASL Advisory Board to represent the Philippines. “We express our gratitude to San Miguel Corp. president Ramon S. Ang and the PBA Board of Governors for their support of Mr. Chua’s appointment and know that Mr. Chua will be a major asset in driving EASL forward as we gear up for our inaugural season to open on Oct. 12,” said Beyer.