Gearing up for EASL

Pride is what’s at stake in the EASL Champions Week in Japan on March 1-5 as powerhouse teams from the host country, Korea, Taipei, Greater China and the Philippines gather to decide bragging rights with the bonus of a $250,000 first prize. The Philippines will be represented by PBA Philippine Cup winner San Miguel Beer and runner-up TNT. The PBA Commissioner’s Cup second place Bay Area Dragons will play for Greater China and are expected to be a serious contender with Andrew Nicholson, Myles Powell and Asian heritage import Sedrick Barefield in harness.

Under EASL rules, a team is allowed to enlist two foreigners and a naturalized player or Asian heritage import. In Bay Area’s case, coach Brian Goorjian is lining up Barefield, a Fil-Am widely known as a Mikey Williams play-alike, instead of a naturalized player. San Miguel and TNT are currently playing in the PBA Governors’ Cup with only one import so they’re bringing in a second reinforcement for the Champions Week.

San Miguel’s Governors’ Cup import Cameron Clark will join the squad in Japan as will TNT’s Rondae Hollis-Jefferson. TNT coach Jojo Lastimosa said the Tropa’s second import Daniel Ochefu, a Nigerian national player, is arriving here today from Philadelphia. San Miguel’s second import Jessie Govan is planing in from New York on Sunday. Both Ochefu and Govan will practice over a week with their new teams before leaving for Utsonomiya where the first three days of games will be held. The last two contests will be played in Okinawa as a warm-up for the FIBA World Cup. Okinawa will host eight teams in two brackets during the group stage at the start of the global event.

EASL, like FIBA, limits each team to 12 players so both San Miguel and TNT must decide whom to suit up from their 15-man local rosters. A team may submit a minimum of 10 and a maximum of 12. There will be no replacements once the tournament begins on March 1. TNT will be the first PBA squad at bat and faces Japanese B-League champion Utsonomiya Brex on March 1. San Miguel takes on B-League runner-up Ryukyu Golden Kings the next day. The Golden Kings are expected to play Asian heritage import Carl Tamayo. On March 3, TNT returns to action against Korean league champion Seoul SK Knights. Hostilities shift to Okinawa on March 4 with San Miguel engaging Korean runner-up Anyang KGC with Asian heritage import Rhenz Abando. The top two finishers of the two groups of four teams each will advance to play for the championship on March 5 with the next two placers battling for the $50,000 third prize.

Anyang’s foreigners are 6-10 Omar Spellman and 6-8 Darryl Monroe. Spellman, 25, played for Atlanta and Golden State in two NBA seasons. Monroe, 37, went to George Mason University and has seen action in Holland, France, Italy, Spain, Israel and Turkey. Seoul’s imports are 6-8 Jameel Warney and 6-8 Leon Williams. Warney, 29, played for Dallas in the NBA. Williams is a Belize national player and went to Cardinal Gibbons High, where Norman Black played, before moving to Ohio University. Utsonomiya has three foreigners to choose from – 6-10 Josh Scott, 6-8 Isaac Fotu and 6-10 Grant Jarrett. The Brex’ Asian heritage import is Korean Jae Min Yang. Former Phoenix Sun Yuta Tabuse anchors the team with national players Makoto Hiejima and Kosuke Takeuchi. Ryukyu’s imports are PBA veteran 6-5 Allen Durham, 6-9 Jack Cooley and 6-8 Josh Duncan.