Text/Yangcheng Evening News All-Media Reporter Hao Haoyu
On December 1, the East Asian Super League (EASL, referred to as "Eastern Super League") announced in Hong Kong, China that it will hold the opening match of the new home and away game system in October 2022, with 8 participating teams. The teams come from top clubs in Japan Men's Basketball Professional League (B League), Korea Men's Basketball Professional League (KBL), Philippine Men's Basketball Professional League (PBA), Chinese Taipei Men's Basketball Professional League (P. LEAGUE+) and Hong Kong, China. The Hong Kong, China club players will come from Mainland China, Hong Kong, China, Macau, China and Taipei, China.
The Eastern Super League has signed a 10-year cooperation agreement with the world basketball regulatory bodies, FIBA and the Asian Basketball Federation, to establish the first basketball club league covering the East Asia region to compete for the East Asian Super League championship title and up to 1 million US dollars. championship bonus.
In this regard, Eastern Super League CEO Matt said: "With the support of long-term contracts with FIBA and the top Asian leagues, the Eastern Super League is honored to become the East Asian basketball hub in the future, bringing the best professional basketball in the region. The club comes together and brings the top games to everyone. The mission of the Eastern Super League is to become the premier basketball league in East Asia. Our goal is to become the top three in the world in terms of fan base and commercial revenue by 2025. Basketball League. "
There are 8 clubs participating in the first home and away season of the Eastern Super League. Each team has a total of 12 players, including 2 foreign players and 1 Asian foreign player. Last season's champions and runners-up from Japan's B-League, South Korea's KBL and Philippines' PBA will directly qualify for the Eastern Super League, while the newly formed Hong Kong Bay Area Jinyu Phoenix and the champions from Chinese Taipei P. LEAGUE+ will join hands to represent the Chinese team Go to war.
"In accordance with FIBA's global strategic goal of creating international events, the FIBA Executive Committee will fully support the preparation and development of the Eastern Super League." FIBA Secretary-General Andreas Zaglis said, "In the past Several years of smooth and professional cooperation between the East Asian Super League and the Asian Basketball Federation, various basketball associations and leagues have paved the way for the recognition of this dynamic competitive platform, which is a perfect fit with FIBA’s global and Asian club resources. "
"In the spirit of developing basketball in East Asia, the Asian Basketball Federation Council strongly supports the establishment of the Eastern Super League," said Hagop Hajirian, Secretary-General of the Asian Basketball Federation, "The Eastern Super League will enrich the highest-level clubs in the Asian continent. The competition, the AFC Champions League, will be a good complement to it and provide an excellent basketball platform for FIBA clubs in East Asia and the Philippines.”
The 8 teams participating in this event will be divided into 2 groups. Form 4 teams and compete in the group stage in a round robin format. From October 2022 to February 2023, each team will play home and away games with the other three teams in the same group. Each group will have a total of 6 rounds, with a total of 24 group stage games. There will be 2 games every Wednesday night. The top two teams in each group will advance to the semi-finals and finally qualify for the semi-finals and championship game in March 2023. The
4 top match will be held on the weekend, along with music festivals and various fan interactive activities. The venue for the top four tournaments will change every year, with the premier metropolitan areas in East Asia being the first choice. In addition, in the third season of the Eastern Super League, the number of participating teams will increase to 16, and it may expand to more regions and other professional basketball leagues in the future.
Before entering the first season of the home and away game system, the Eastern Super League had successfully held four one-week events in Macau, China from 2017 to 2019. In September 2019, the Eastern Super League held a week-long "The Extraordinary 12" event and received 117 million views.
Although the epidemic in East Asia has not yet ended, with the firm support of FIBA, the Asian Basketball Federation and other partner leagues, the first season of the Eastern Super League has received many strong investments even if it faces potential delays. fully supported. The management of the Eastern Super League has always maintained an optimistic attitude towards the start of the first home and away season in October 2022.(For more news and information, please follow Yangcheng Pai pai.ycwb.com)
source | Yangcheng Evening News • Yangcheng Pai
pictures | The organizer provides
editor | Liu Yi
