THE game schedule for the East Asia Super League 2023-24 Season was unveiled on Friday, with the Meralco Bolts replacing Barangay Ginebra as one of the two PBA teams.
The Bolts are in Group B comprised of B.LEAGUE champions Ryukyu Golden Kings, Korean Basketball League (KBL) runners-up Seoul SK Knights, and P. LEAGUE+ runners-up New Taipei Kings.
Group A features Japan B.LEAGUE runners-up Chiba Jets, Korean Basketball League (KBL) champions Anyang Jung Kwan Jang Red Boosters, Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Governors’ Cup champions TNT Tropang Giga, and P. LEAGUE+ champions Taipei Fubon Braves.
The EASL 2023-24 Season will involve 28 games, taking place between October 11 this year and March 10, 2024. The full fixture list is published on page 3 of this release.
In exciting news for the EASL season, Chinese Taipei superstar Jeremy Lin announced on Thursday he is joining the New Taipei Kings. Jeremy will line up alongside his brother Joseph for the Kings this season in a development that will thrill basketball fans across Asia.
The EASL 2023-24 group stage involves 24 games between October and February, played on Wednesday evenings, with tip-off times at 6 p.m., 7 p.m. and 8 p.m. local time. Tip-off times for individual games will be confirmed at a later date. The eight competing teams have been drawn into two groups and they will each play their group opponents once at home and once away.
The EASL 2023-24 championship will be decided at the four-game, four-team Final Four playoff competition on March 8-10, 2024.
Announcing the schedule, EASL co-founder and CEO Matt Beyer said, “Asian basketball fans have never had such a rich list of competitive fixtures between their top clubs. This schedule represents the realization of the EASL dream of a full season of competition to decide who is the best team in East Asia.”
FIBA Asia Executive Director Hagop Khajirian said, “The FIBA Regional Office-Asia is looking forward to Season 2 of the EASL, indeed an important milestone as it means another step towards the growth of pan-regional club competition in this part of Asia. We wish all the participating teams the best of luck in this endeavor.”
B.LEAGUE Commissioner Shinji Shimada said, “EASL Season 2 will start soon, with Ryukyu Golden Kings and Chiba Jets from B.LEAGUE. I’m looking forward to seeing these two clubs being successful on the Asian stage. Moreover, I am excited to see all the qualified clubs playing competitively and showing the world the appeal of Asian basketball.”
KBL Commissioner Kim Hee Ok said, “We are sure that Korean basketball fans will be hooked by the journeys of Anyang KGC and Seoul SK Knights through EASL Season 2. We look forward to seeing them.