Busan KCC Egis go down 111-97 to Macau Black Bears in East Asia Super League

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Busan KCC Egis go down 111-97 to Macau Black Bears in East Asia Super League

Published: 07 Nov. 2024, 14:11 Updated: 08 Nov. 2024, 12:00

PAIK JI-HWAN
paik.jihwan@joongang.co.kr

Busan KCC Egis's Heo Ung in action during the East Asia Super League game against the Macau Black Bears at Studio City Event Center in Macau on Wednesday. [EASL]

Busan KCC Egis lost their first East Asia Super League (EASL) game 111-97 to the Macau Black Bears at the Studio City Event Center in Macau on Wednesday.

Wednesday’s game was Egis’s first in the EASL where 10 teams from across Asia compete.

Egis were up in the first quarter, ending the period 34-32. But the Bears snatched the lead in the second quarter, with the score at 61-56. The home side went on to grab the third quarter 84-74 and seal the win 111-97 .

Despite the loss, Egis’s Deonte Burton was the top scorer of the game with 35 points, one point more than the Bears’ Jeantal Cylla.

With one loss so far, Egis has hit the bottom of the five-team table in Group B for now. The top two teams from Group A and Group B will reach the semifinals.

Fellow KBL team Suwon KT Sonicboom are in Group A, competing in the EASL for the first time. The club was not in action on Wednesday but has already played two games and picked up one win and one loss to sit in third place.

Both Egis and Sonicboom will have a busier schedule than their fellow KBL teams this season, as the EASL and KBL schedules overlap through February, when the EASL group stage finishes.

The EASL has seen strong performances from KBL teams since it began in 2023. Anyang KGC, now called the Anyang Jung Kwan Jang Red Boosters, were inaugural champions and finished in third place the following season when fellow KBL team Seoul SK Knights finished as runner-up.

Egis play their next EASL game against the Meralco Bolts on Nov. 13.

Last season’s KBL Championship winners have recorded four wins and four losses from the opening eight games this season.

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