Taiwanese teams Taoyuan Pauian Pilots and Taipei Fubon Braves nabbed big wins over their Japanese foes to begin the 2025-26 EASL season.
Taiwan had Japan’s number as the Taoyuan Pauian Pilots and the Taipei Fubon Braves beat the Ryukyu Golden Kings and the Utsonomiya Brex, respectively, in their opening games in the 2025-26 East Asia Super League (EASL) regular season on Wednesday.
Last year’s runner-up Pilots used a third quarter surge to best the Golden Kings, 94-80, at the Taipei Heping Basketball Gymnasium.
After only leading by four, 49-45, the Taoyuan outscored the Ryukyu, 27-15, in the third canto.
Pilots skipper Chun-Hsiang Lu and Setric Millner Jr. connived for 24 and 20 points, respectively, to pace the all-around team effort for the PIlots that also saw four players finish in double-digit scoring.
William Artino had a double-double of 11 points and 12 rebounds to go along with two assists, two steals, and two blocks.
Victor Law, meanwhile, saw his 29-point effort go to waste as Ryukyu fell to 0-1.
Elsewhere, the Taipei Fubon Braves escaped in overtime against the Utsonomiya Brex, 109-107, at the Taipei Heping Basketball Gymnasium.
The Braves forced overtime with a shot from Yu-Wei Chen with two ticks left in regulation.
Then it was Kuei-Yu Chou who nailed the triple late in the extra period, 107-106, with 1:24 left on the block to put the Braves ahead permanently before free throws from both sides helped arrive at the final score.
Archie Goodwin III put the Braves on his back with a 43-point explosion along with 12 boards, five rebounds, six assists, and three steals.
The Brex, for their part, were paced by DJ Newbill’s 32 markers.
Mongolians take victory
Over in the other game, the Xac Broncos used a strong second half to drub the Alvark Tokyo, 84-69, at the Keio Arena to make it a 0-3 night for Japanese teams on Wednesday.
Omoefay Johnson and Ian Miller had 25 and 22 markers, respectively, in the victory.
Johnson also added 11 boards, one assist, two steals, and one block.
Marcus Foster paced Alvark with 20 points, seven rebounds, one assist, and two steals in the losing effort.
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Luisa Morales is a sports writer with a special interest in promoting women’s sports.
Her coverage highlights include the UAAP, PVL, Southeast Asian Games, and the FIBA World Cup. She also follows Alex Eala, the Philippine women’s national football team, and mixed martial arts.