Reporter Feng Zihan
On August 25, Beijing time, the East Asian Super League (hereinafter referred to as "East Super League") announced the promotion to the last two teams of the first home and away pan-regional season: Philippine Telecom and Shengli Beermen from the Philippine Basketball League. The two teams just advanced to the Philippine Cup final not long ago, thus qualifying for the East Asian Super League.
Two Philippine PBA League clubs are no strangers to international competitions. As early as 2019, they participated in the extraordinary 12 events held in the East Asian Super League. At that time, Philippine Telecom failed in the group stage, and the Shengli Beerman made it to the semi-finals and finally stopped in the semi-finals. With the confirmation of the qualification of the East Super League, the two teams will once again have the opportunity to compete with the best of the East Asian club teams and strive to go further than last time.
The players of the two clubs also expressed their support. "It's time to show the world the style of Philippine and Asian basketball. We will work with the East Asian Super League to improve the level of Asian basketball. This is the perfect stage to take basketball to the next level. Our moment has arrived!" said C.J. Perez of the Sunway Beerman.
"We are very excited to get the opportunity to compete in the East Asian Premier League and compete for the $1 million championship prize." Matt Gamuelas Roser of Philippine Telecom said, "I look forward to showing our style to fans in the international competitions on behalf of our league, our fans and our country. This is an excellent opportunity. What is even more exciting is that we can play in the Philippines and enjoy the cheers of the fans at our doorstep."
In October this year, Philippine Telecom and Shengli Beer people are about to face the championship and runner-up clubs of major leagues in East Asian regions. They will surely convene the strongest lineup to compete for the East Asian Premier League championship and the $1 million championship prize.
"I am very much looking forward to Utsunomiya King Do to fight against the strong teams in the PBA, especially Philippine Telecom." Utsunomiya King Do to the head coach of Utsunomiya King Do to say, "Jason Castro in their team is very good. He eliminated the Japanese men's basketball team in in Asian Cup in 2015. I am the assistant coach of that Japanese men's basketball team. We look forward to fighting with this outstanding player."
"I can't wait to play against the Philippine PBA League champion on the stage of the East Asian Super League. I have played in the Philippines before and know how competitive their players are, and I have also seen their whirlwind style of playing. For fans, it is really great to see the match between P. LEAGUE+ champion and PBA champion." 2020-2021 season P. LEAGUE+Most Valuable Player Zhang Zongxian said.
According to the results of the East Asian Super League group draw previously held in Manila , the Philippine Cup champion was assigned to Group A, while the Philippine Cup runner-up was assigned to Group B.
East Asian Super League is the top basketball league in East Asia. It has gathered the top club teams for the first time in history, combining home and away pan-regional events with local league schedules to jointly improve the level of Asian basketball and bring an unparalleled entertainment experience to fans. The first home and away season of the East Asian Premier League will start on October 12.
