Pilots stage largest comeback in EASL history over Black Bears

Taipei, Dec. 15 (CNA) The Taoyuan Pauian Pilots rallied from a 26-point deficit to defeat the Macau Black Bears 104-86 on Sunday, completing the largest comeback in East Asia Super League (EASL) history.

The Pilots erased the deficit on their home court en route to a 44-point turnaround, improving to 3-1 in the 2025-26 EASL season.

The Black Bears started strongly, hitting nine of their first 10 shots from beyond the arc to take a 40-17 lead early in the second quarter.

They pushed their lead to the biggest of the game at 51-25 on an Omari Peek-Green layup with 6:15 remaining before halftime and took a 65-45 lead into the break.

The Pilots, runners-up in the 2024-2025 EASL season, showed resilience, however, by outscoring Macau by 19 points in each of the third and fourth quarters to seal the win.

As good as the Black Bears were in the first, they imploded in the third quarter, turning the ball over seven times and shooting 3-16 from the floor, including 2-9 from three-point range.

To their credit, the Pilots only had two turnovers in the entire second half.

Center Alec Brown led all scorers with 27 points, including 13 in the third quarter, and grabbed nine rebounds. Damian Chongqui paced the Black Bears with 25 points and a game-high seven assists.

Pilots head coach Iurgi Caminos praised Macau's early one-on-one shot-making and admitted his team was nearly overwhelmed.

He credited the team's huge comeback to improved defense, pointing to guards Pai Yao-cheng (白曜誠) and Kuan Ta-you (關達祐) for limiting Chongqui's playmaking, as well as Brown and shooting guard Lu Chun-hsiang (盧峻翔) for delivering key baskets.

Lu, a two-time PLG regular season MVP seeking his third consecutive title, led all Taiwanese players on the Pilots with 26 points.

With the win, the Pilots lead Group B by half a game over the Meralco Bolts, who are 3-2.

The Pilots will visit Huaqiao University in Fujian province, China, on Jan. 4, 2026, for a rematch against Macau before closing group play against Japan's Ryukyu Golden Kings in Okinawa on Feb. 4.

Macau fell to 0-3, while the Golden Kings are 1-1.

Now in its third season, the EASL is an international 12-team competition independent of domestic leagues and operates similarly to a Champions League for East Asian basketball teams.

The league features top clubs from Japan (three), South Korea (two), the Philippines, Hong Kong, Macau, Mongolia and Taiwan (three, the top two PLG teams and the top Taiwan Professional Basketball League team), competing for a US$1 million championship prize across a 42-game schedule.

The runners-up earn US$500,000, while the third-place team receives US$250,000.