Yuki Togashi and his Chiba Jets are the only undefeated team in the East Asia Super League Final Four.
LAPU-LAPU CITY — There’s a clear-cut favorite among the four-teams seeing action in the final weekend of the 2023-24 East Asia Super League season at the Hoops Dome here.
Japan’s Chiba Jets.
The B.League powerhouse enter the EASL Final Four as the lone undefeated team, having swept Group A play with a clean 6-0 record.
Their semifinals opponents in the P.League+’s New Taipei Kings brace for impact, wary of Chiba’s high-powered offense fueled by “the head of the snake” in former B.League MVP Yuki Togashi.
“They’re a very, very good team. I think to beat them you have to start with no. 2 [Togashi], he’s kind of the head of the snake. We have to do our best to contain him,” Kings Joseph Lin said of the upcoming matchup.
His brother, former NBA sensation Jeremy, agrees.
“I think we’re on the same page here that he’s the head of the snake,” he added.
Chiba’s offense is the primary concern, as the Jets have simply overwhelmed the EASL competition to the tune of 91.0 points game, all while making over 12 threes a game and dishing out over 23 assists per outing.
Import John Mooney is a key driver, averaging 23 points and 16.3 rebounds per game, but Togashi orchestrates the whole operation, averaging 5.4 assists on top of 17.0 points.
“They’re a tremendously high-powered offensive team,” Jeremy Lin said.
“Over the course of pool play I think we averaged 78-79 points, and they averaged [91]. In a 40-minute game, that is exceptional. There’s definitely going to be a defensive challenge and play our style,” he added.
New Taipei vs. Chiba is the nightcap of the semifinals at 8:00 p.m. Friday.