BASKETBALL/Pauian Pilots rout South Korean team, advance to EASL semifinals

Taipei, March 19 (CNA) The Taoyuan Pauian Pilots advanced to the semifinals of the East Asia Super League (EASL) finals on Wednesday with an 89-69 win over the Seoul SK Knights in Macau.

The Pilots never trailed, taking the lead when star forward Lu Chun-hsiang (盧峻翔) hit a three-pointer 13 seconds into the game. Treveon Graham led the Pilots with a game-high 19 points in 26 minutes, as both teams had four players score in double digits.

The Pilots outscored the Knights 40-28 in the paint and 31-21 off the bench, while both teams shot below 25 percent from three-point range.

With Wednesday's victory, the Pilots, defending champions of Taiwan's P.LEAGUE+ (PLG), improved their record against Korean Basketball League (KBL) teams in the EASL to 3-0 and will face top seed Alvark Tokyo at 8 p.m. Friday at Studio City in Macau, seeking a place in the final.

Meanwhile, the other Taiwan team competing in the EASL, the New Taipei Kings of the Taiwan Professional Basketball League (TPBL), were eliminated after an 85-64 loss to Japan's Utsunomiya Brex, the 2024-25 B.LEAGUE champions.

The Brex will face the Ryukyu Golden Kings, another B.LEAGUE team, at 6 p.m. Friday, with the winner advancing to the EASL final on Sunday.

The 2025-26 EASL champions will receive US$1.5 million in prize money, while the runners-up and third-place finishers will take home US$750,000 and US$350,000, respectively.