March 17 ------ THE East Asia Super League is set to expand to 16 teams after two seasons with additional leagues around Asia set to send in representatives. “The schedule for next season is finished and it will be eight teams. And then, we are expanding to 16 after that,” said EASL chief executive officer Henry Kerins. Since its shift from a preseason tournament to a league that began in 2023, the EASL has been playing with eight teams.
EASL eyes China
Kerins said China will take part in the EASL’s expansion, although it is still in the stage of finalizing which league is participating. “It will be Mainland China and other leagues as well that we are finalizing. You’ll see a lot more leagues participating which will be great,” said Kirens.
Kerins noted the importance of China for the growth of the EASL. “China is the largest market of basketball in Asia and some of the largest fanbase in the world. Obviously, having that in the EASL is something that we aspire for and will be a big part of our expansion plans,” said Kirens.
More teams joining
Kerins hinted that there will be additional participants from the existing leagues in the PBA, Japan B.League, Korean Basketball League, and Taiwan P.League+ during the expansion. “There’s going to be some increases from some of the leagues most likely, but the reality is we want to keep it the champion and the runner-up,” said Kerins.
Source: spin.ph
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