Anyang KGC crowned EASL champions as San Miguel Beer, TNT Tropang Giga end stints without winning a game
4 min readAnyang KGC subdued the Seoul SK Knights, 90-84, Sunday, March 5, to emerge champion of the East Asia Super League (EASL) Champions Week at the Okinawa Arena, where two Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) teams from the Philippines – San Miguel Beer and TNT Tropang Giga – bowed out without a single win.
The champion team bagged the $250,000 prize and the champion’s trophy in the 10-team tournament.
In an embarrassing defeat, San Miguel Beer suffered a 142-87 loss to Anyang KGC on Saturday at the Okinawa Arena, ending their East Asia Super League Champions Week without a single victory.
Despite playing without star player June Mar Fajardo and skipper Chris Ross, the Beermen initially showed some resistance against the Korean club but quickly lost steam.
Omari Spellman led Anyang KGC with 53 points, 13 rebounds, and five assists, while Rhenz Abando, a Filipino import, contributed 22 points, five rebounds, and two assists.
Spellman was hailed the most valuable player of the tournament following his impressive showing against the Seoul SK Knights in the finals.
Abando, for his part, was an NCAA champion, rookie of the year, and MVP while playing for Letran.
Cameron Clark had 35 points, and CJ Perez added 26 more to try to keep San Miguel in the game, but their efforts were not enough.
Byeon Jun-hyeong and Bae Byung-jun combined for 32 points to propel the Korean Basketball League’s second-ranked team to a perfect 2-0 record, effectively extinguishing San Miguel Beer’s hope for a podium finish in the East Asia Super League Champions Week.
TNT also failed to secure a win in the Champions Week after losing to the Seoul SK Knights 80-69 on Friday. Despite staying in step with the reigning Korean Basketball League champions in the first three quarters, the Tropang Giga crumbled in the final salvo and finished their Group B campaign with a 0-2 record.
Import Jalen Hudson scored 14 points and 7 rebounds, while Calvin Oftana scored 16 points and 3 rebounds off the bench, and Mikey Williams added 13 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists.
BLOWOUT LOSS. The San Miguel Beermen team absorbs a blowout loss at the hands of eventual champion Anyang KGC in their East Asia Super League (EASL) Champions Week encounter in Japan. East Asia Super League Facebook Photos
Former NBA player Daniel Ochefu contributed a double-double of 12 points and 12 rebounds with 2 blocks and 2 steals, but it was not enough to stop the Knights’ Jameel Warney from dominating with a triple-double of 21 points, 19 rebounds, and 11 assists.
The Bay Area Dragons bounced back from their defeat to Seoul with a 96-90 win over the defending B. League titlist Utsunomiya, securing their place in the third-place game. Andrew Nicholson scored 26 points and 12 rebounds, while Myles Powell contributed 17 points, 10 assists, 7 rebounds, and two steals.
The Dragons and the Utsunomiya Brex both finished with identical 1-1 records in Group B, but Bay Area won the tiebreak by the win-over-the-other rule.
