Anyang KGC win all-Korean final at East Asian club tournament

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Anyang KGC win all-Korean final at East Asian club tournament

Published: 06 Mar. 2023, 16:38 Updated: 06 Mar. 2023, 17:55

Anyang KGC's Omari Spellman, right, in action during the final of the East Asian Super League (EASL) Champions Week against the Seoul SK Knights at Okinawa Arena in Okinawa, Japan on Sunday. [EASL]

Anyang KGC became the inaugural champions of the East Asian Super League (EASL) Champions Week after beating the Seoul SK Knights 90-84 at Okinawa Arena in Okinawa, Japan on Sunday.

The EASL Champions Week is an international basketball tournament in which eight teams from five different countries compete — although on the night it turned out to be an all-Korean final.

The eight teams from Korea, Japan, Taiwan, the Philippines and Hong Kong were split into two four-team groups for the group stage: A and B.

Unlike the usual round-robin format, every team in each group did not play each other, with each team only playing two games.

The final of the tournament became an all-Korean team affair after KGC landed in the final with two wins over the Taipei Fubon Braves of Taiwan and San Miguel Beerman of the Philippines in Group A, in addition to the Knights’ two game winning-streak over the Bay Area Dragons of Hong Kong and TNT Tropang Giga of the Philippines in Group B.

KGC, who are the current league leaders in the KBL, failed to take an early lead on Sunday, losing the first quarter 27-25. They turned things around in the second quarter though, with Omari Spellman’s solid performance both in defense and attack, grabbing the quarter with 49-37.

KGC then conceded 12 points to the Knights’ Kim Sun-hyung in the third quarter, but still kept their lead. They eventually ended the quarter 66-61.

It came down to the fourth quarter to decide the champions of the competition. The Anyang side held onto their lead despite the Knights’ attempt to catch up and secured it all the way to the end at 90-84, ultimately marking their win in the tournament.

Spellman, who was named as MVP of the EASL Champions Week, was one of the key players in Sunday’s game as he scored 19 points. He had managed 53 points alone in the previous game against Filipino side Beerman on Saturday.

Darryl Monroe and Byeon Jun-hyeong also contributed to their team’s win by scoring 21 and 16 points respectively.

Meanwhile, the third-place game between the Kings and Dragons took place three hours before the final, ending with a 90-70 victory for the Dragons.

Both Korean teams will return to Korea to immediately resume their league schedule. KGC will play the Seoul Samsung Thunders on Friday, before clashing with the Knights again in Songpa District, southern Seoul on Sunday.

BY PAIK JI-HWAN [paik.jihwan@joongang.co.kr]