PASAY CITY, PHILIPPINES – The Philippines’ San Miguel Beermen and Meralco Bolts will face the KT Suwon Sonicboom and the Macau Blackbears in the 2024-2025 East Asia Super League (EASL) season in the league’s Tip-Off event today at the Mall of Asia Arena here.

This is the opening act of the tournament dubbed the Champions League in East Asia, with champion teams from each of the participating countries gunning for the crown of the best team in the region.

With that being said, let’s dive into what to expect from the slate of games today.

How will the Beermen and the Bolts adapt to the international style of play?

Over the past few days, San Miguel and Meralco have been in the thick of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) playoffs as both teams are battling hard to get out of the quarterfinals. And now they would have to be up to the challenge of transitioning and adjusting their play when they meet international counterparts from Korea and Macau.

This seems like a tough task ahead for the Beermen and the Bolts as they have been accustomed to playing the Filipino brand of basketball for over a whole season, and the little turnaround time could present some issues along the way.

The Koreans have always been known to be shooters and ball movers, utilizing their speed and team chemistry to damage their opponents. The Black Bears employ a similar playstyle, offering a variety of their shots from three as well as relying on production from their imports.

Nevertheless, San Miguel and Meralco are two of the best teams the Philippines has to offer, so it will be a fun matchup regardless as they showcase their brand of basketball to the visitors.

San Miguel Beermen and KT Suwon Sonicboom: The three-point game

According to stats from EASL, the Beermen and the Sonicboom are both great three-point shooting teams. Throughout the Beermen’s 2023-24 PBA Commissioner’s Cup run, they hit 10.8 3’s per game at a 34% clip. In contrast, KT hit 9.2 3’s per game last season in the KBL, scoring 35.2% of their shots from deep.

San Miguel sharpshooter Marcio Lassiter, who became the PBA’s all-time 3-point leader with 1,251 career 3-pointers on Sep. 15, will lead the way for the Beermen, while Heo Hoon, who averaged 3.6 threes in the KBL Finals last season, will do the same for Suwon.

This will be a very interesting thing to monitor as the Beermen have had to deal with the newly implemented 4-point line in the ongoing PBA season, and this has led to interesting results. Teams have been playing less zone over in the country’s scene so we might see the Sonicboom play some tough 1-on-1 defense throughout the game.

Meralco Bolts and Macau Black Bears: Bounce back or good start?

After a tough EASL season last year, the Bolts aim to improve and increase their wins this EASL season. Meralco has also bowed out of the current PBA playoff season, and now they shift their focus onto their EASL campaign hoping for better results.

On the other hand, the Black Bears come into the 2024-2025 season as an expansion team and are looking to start good and hot. They will make their debut in the East Asian League full of hope and optimism but armed with lofty expectations.

According to EASL’s scouting report, the Black Bears are equipped with a fast-paced and free-flowing offense. Macau also runs most of its sets through floor general Damian Chong Qui, who just at 5-foot-9, operates well off of ball screens but can also pop out and hit an open 3. Jenning Leung, a sharp-shooting 6-foot guard out of Canada’s McGill University, makes up an elite Black Bears’ backcourt and together these two are for sure going to give the Bolts a lot of problems.

Ira

EASL Tip-Off Preview: San Miguel, Meralco go up against neighboring Korea, Macau