SAN Miguel and TNT will bank on the support of Filipinos in Japan as the East Asia Super League Champions Week is headed to the Land of the Rising Sun on March next year.
The league announced on Wednesday the Utsonomiya Brex and the Ryukyu Golden Kings will hosts together all 10 games to be played during the March 1-5 tournament.
The meet was originally set in Manila, but will now be played in Japan instead, with both the Kings and Brex enjoying the support of the home town crowd.
But the Beermen and Tropang Giga hope to feel the love of Filipinos who are both based and currently working in Japan, where a number of Filipino players are also plying their wares.
"We can't wait to see our top teams head to Japan and compete in the East Asia Super League," said PBA commissioner Willie Marcial. "We're also well aware of the rising popularity of Filipino players and basketball in Japan, and we're ready to make a strong run for the championship."
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San Miguel and TNT faced each other in the last finals of the Philippine Cup, won by the Beermen. Part of their incentive is the right to represent the country in the Champions Week.
The reigning all-Filipino champions are bracketed in Group A with the Golden Kings, Anyang KGC of Korea, and Taipei Fubon Braves of the PLeague+.
On the other hand, the Tropang Giga are in Group B with the Brex, Seoul SK Knights, and the Bay Area Dragons.
Schedule of games will be determined through a draw set to take place in December, which will be livestreamed globally.
The champion will take home $250,000, runner up $100,000, and third place $50,000.
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Each team will play two group stage games for a total of eight games from March 1-4.
The first three group stage games will be held at the Utsunomiya Nikkan Arena, before the final group stage games shift to Okinawa Arena.
The top two teams from each group advance to the next stage, before the two survivors play each other out in the championship match, and the other two in a battle for third place.
In case two or more teams finish with the same win-loss record at the end of the group stage, a tiebreaker will be implemented through the higher game points difference of all games in the group, or the higher number of game points scored in all games in the group.
"EASL is honored to be the hub of East Asian basketball, bringing the best of the best of the region's club teams together in an elite competition, supported by long-term agreements with FIBA and Asia's top leagues," said EASL CEO Matt Beyer.
"EASL Champions Week in Japan will be unlike anything ever seen before and provide fans with electrifying game actions and a platform for the top leagues and professional teams in the region to gain global exposure."
The league will launch its home-and-away format in 2023 for Season 2, with representative teams qualifying through their current domestic seasons. (RG)
