Arvin Tolentino and the Seoul SK Knights were denied outright entry into the playoffs of the East Asia Super League after an overtime loss to Hong Kong.
The Seoul SK Knights botched their first attempt at becoming the first team to get into the 2025-26 East Asia Super League playoffs, blasted in overtime by Hong Kong Eastern, 96-83, at the Southorn Stadium on Wednesday.
Seoul, which featured Filipino reinforcement Arvin Tolentino, scored only two points in the extra period and had to endure 12-0 blitz by Hong Kong.
The SK Knights were poised to take the victory in regulation when Jameel Warney made both his free throws to make it an 81-78 lead with six seconds remaining.
But Cameron Clark drilled the game-tying triple with one second left to keep Eastern in the game.
While they still had time left on the clock, Seoul was unable to inbound the ball coming from a timeout to send the game into overtime.
Clark continued to assert his will against cold-shooting SK Knights in the extra period, with Hong Kong eventually cruising to victory.
The flat overtime performance squandered a 16-point performance from Tolentino, even as the former PBA star keyed a crucial run in the second quarter where Seoul seized the lead.
Tolentino scored 10 of his points in the second quarter alone.
He also made crucial free throws in the fourth to give the SK Knights a two-point cushion, 77-75, with 1:04 left. However, there wasn’t enough gas left in the tank as the Korean side faltered in overtime to drop to 3-2 in Group A.
Clark and Dominic Gilbert did the heavy lifting for Hong Kong with 27 markers each, while Gilbert also had the double-double with 12 rebounds.
Warney was the top scorer for Seoul with 29 points, as Darryl Monroe finished with a double-double of 22 points and 14 rebounds.
Seoul targets a bounce back — and more importantly entry into the EASL playoffs — when the SK Knights face the B.LEAGUE champion Utsunomiya Brex (1-2) in their next assignment on January 21.
—
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.