BASKETBALL/EASL to tip off 2025-26 season in Taipei, Tokyo on Oct. 8

Taipei, Aug. 11 (CNA) The 2025-26 East Asia Super League (EASL) season will open on Oct. 8 with games in Taipei and Tokyo, as the young league continues to expand across the region.

Fans in Taiwan's capital will see a doubleheader at Taipei Heping Basketball Gymnasium featuring the 2024-25 P.LEAGUE+ (PLG) champion Taoyuan Pauian Pilots and runner-up Taipei Fubon Braves taking on two Japanese powerhouses, the EASL said Monday.

The Braves will host the Utsunomiya Brex, the reigning B.LEAGUE champion, while the Pilots are set to face the Ryukyu Golden Kings in a rematch of last season's EASL final.

Ryukyu secured its berth by winning Japan's Emperor's Cup, becoming the country's third team in the new season alongside the Brex and B.LEAGUE runner-up Alvark Tokyo.

The New Taipei Kings of the Taiwan Professional Basketball League (TPBL) are the third team from Taiwan in the EASL. They will debut on Oct. 22 against Alvark, according to the EASL schedule.

The upcoming season will feature 12 teams competing for the championship and US$1 million in prize money over 42 games.

Having expanded from eight teams in its inaugural season to 10 last year, the league will be divided into three groups for the first time instead of two.

The other participating teams are the Seoul SK Knights and Changwon LG Sakers of South Korea's Korean Basketball League (KBL), the Meralco Bolts of the Philippine Basketball Association, Hong Kong Eastern, the Macau Black Bears, and Mongolia's Xac Broncos.

The Tokyo opener will mark the league's first-ever game in Japan's capital, where Alvark will host the Broncos at Keio Arena Tokyo in both teams' EASL debut.

The expansion will also see the league stage group games on weekends for the first time, having previously limited them to Wednesdays to avoid clashing with domestic league schedules.