East Asia Super League has released initial matchup breakdowns for the upcoming premier basketball preseason event of the summer, The Terrific 12.
When the new 2019 event tips off on September 17 at Macao’s Tap Seac Multi-Sport Pavilion, the opening-round slate of games guarantees an action-packed week of basketball with a series of interesting stories lasting throughout the championship game.
The event will have a familiar look with five teams returning from previous events. In fact, the winners of 2017’s The Super 8 and 2018’s The Terrific 12, The Chiba Jets and Ryukyu Golden Kings respectively, are back for more.
There is no shortage of talent as plenty of new faces look to crash the party as the top professional clubs from China, Japan, South Korea and the Philippines have assembled their starting rosters with star domestic and foreign import players to compete for lucrative cash prizes at the FIBA-recognized tournament.
Group Stage Day 1 – September 17
Day one’s games start off with a bang as champion contenders from East Asia’s most elite leagues go head-to-head. The two-time KBL Champion, Seoul SK Knights, make their EASL debut against last year’s Summer Super 8 standouts, Blackwater Elite at 3:00 p.m.. Next up, the Zhejiang Guangsha Lions take on Jeonju KCC Egis at 5:00 p.m.. Both teams made deep playoff runs and this will mark their first time ever facing off.
Later that day, the Shenzhen Aviators clash against The San Miguel Beermen at 7:00 p.m.. The Aviators have multiple, massive seven foot big men, and former NBA star imports in Pierre Jackson and Shabazz Muhammad. However, the Beermen have eight-time PBA champion, June Mar Fajardo. Not to mention, a guard so smooth, he’s known as “The Golden Boy,Terrence Romeo will look to lead the Beermen to an EASL championship.
Matchup of the day: The matchup of the day features Guo Ailun and the Liaoning Flying Leopards against TNT KaTropa led by Jayson“The Blur”Castro at 9:00 p.m. Liaoning is the most feared team in the CBA. Their dominant domestic roster is the V8 engine to the team’s Mustang. All-Stars, Guo Ailun and Zhao Jiwei, are the strongest backcourt in the CBA. “Chinese Shaq” or Han Dejun is one of the top big men and legendary coach, Guo Shiqiang, now has former NBA star, Lance Stephenson at his disposal.
TNT KaTropa is no stranger to challenging matchups. The club has racked up seven PBA titles in their illustrious history and are hungry for more. Jayson Castro has won everything during his career, and won’t stop at anything to add to his accolade list. Former player and newly minted head coach, Ferdinand “The Raven” Ravena, looks to take home his first championship as the main engineer of the team.
Group Stage Day 2 – September 18
Day two picks up right where the action left off beginning with two EASL newcomers. Five-time KBL Champion, Jeonju KCC Egis, takes on Yuta Tabuse known as“The Japanese Michael Jordan” and Utsunomiya Brex at 3:00 p.m.. The Super 8 champions from 2017, the Chiba Jets, led by captain Ryumo Ono will then face off against Blackwater Elite and PBA All-Star, Rey Mark Belo at 5:00 p.m..
The 7:00 p.m. matchup features the Liaoning Flying Leopards and Niigata Albirex Basketball. Liaoning will have back-to-back matchups against top club teams from the Philippines and Japan respectively. Niigata is coming off a deep playoff run led by B.LEAGUE’s“Most Impressive Player” 39 year old, Kei Igarashi.
Matchup of the day: The matchup of the day features the reigning champions, the Ryukyu Golden Kings, defending their title for the first time in 2019 against the Shenzhen Aviators at 9:00 p.m.. The Terrific 12 Final’s MVP Ryuichi Kishimoto will have his hands full against a stacked Shenzhen team full of All-Stars and national team players.
Shenzhen can light up the scoreboard like a pin-ball machine with CBA All-Star big men, Shen Zijie and Li Muhao. Bai Haotian and He Xining can also rain down three pointers in bunches. However, Ryukyu is no stranger to tough CBA matchups after they took down the Guangzhou Long-Lions in The Terrific 12 championship last year.
Group Stage Day 3 – September 19
The third and final day of group phase will undoubtedly be electric as teams will do battle for the remaining Semi-Final spots. Niigata Albirex Basketball and TNT KaTropa kick things off at 3:00 p.m. Kei Igarashi will look to co-star guard and former college teammate, Shinsuke Kashiwagi, as Niigata plays back-to-back championship caliber teams. The 5:00 p.m. game features the Chiba Jets facing off against a rested Seoul SK Knights.
The later evening games get started at 7:00.pm. when the San Miguel Beermen confront the reigning champions, the Ryukyu Golden Kings, head on. The Beermen are out to spoil the Golden Kings’ second appearance in The Terrific 12, but not if Norio Sassa, the Golden Kings head coach, has anything to say about it. The 35 year old coach emphasizes defense and has turned the Golden Kings into a championship contender.
Matchup of the day: To conclude the Group Phase, the Zhejiang Guangsha Lions led by young national team stars, Sun Minghui and Hu Jinqiu, take on Makoto Hiejima and Utsunomiya Brex at 9:00 p.m.. Makoto Hiejima makes his debut with the team after returning from the NBA Summer League playing with the New Orleans Pelicans. Zhejiang Guangsha hasn’t been taking the off-season lightly either, as they return from intensive overseas training in Australia.
The Lions added six-time Australian NBL coach of the year, Brian Goorjian, to their staff to help develop their young stars. After multiple deep runs in EASL events, the Lions have one goal in mind – the title. The Brex are making their EASL debut, but don’t let that fool you. This team doesn’t shy away from the big stage with a core of All-Stars and scorers, they aren’t in the business of packing up and going home early.
Semi-Finals and the Finals – September 21-22
There’s no room for error as only one team from each group advances to the Semi-Finals (September 21) played at 5:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m.. The third place game and The Terrific 12 championship will be held on September 22 at 5:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. respectively.
On September 9, EASL will share key player quotes about upcoming Group Stage matchups including game strategies, thoughts on opponents and more.
What is better than seats right next to the action ? Ticket prices for the group stage are set at MOP 50 for standard ticket and MOP 100 for courtside seat ticket. Semi-Finals and Finals tickets are MOP 200 for standard ticket and MOP 400 for courtside seat ticket. Full five-day tournament packages are also available at MOP 400 (standard ticket).