The 2023–24 East Asia Super League was the second regular season of the East Asia Super League, an international basketball club competition involving teams from domestic leagues in Japan, South Korea, Philippines and Taiwan.[2][3] The season started on 11 October 2023, and ended on 10 March 2024.
Originally set to be held from 12 October 2022 to February 2023 under a in home and away format and a Final Four knockout stage,[4] the start of the EASL regular season was postponed to October 2023.[5][6]
The 2023 EASL Champions Week was organized in March as a pre-season tournament.[6] The tournament was retroactively considered as the EASL's first season. The 2023–24 season is tagged by the organizers as its second season.[7]
Prior to the postponement of the season, each of the top two finishing teams of the 2022 PBA Philippine Cup, 2021–22 B.League season, 2021–22 Korean Basketball League, and the champions of the 2021–22 P. League+ season qualified.[10] Initially, the Philippine allocation was unclear since the Philippine Basketball Association holds multiple conferences or tournaments across a single season. Among the possibilities were drawing of lots among the top four PBA teams, forming a selection team or entering the national team.[11][12] Champions San Miguel Beermen and runners-up TNT Tropang Giga qualified for the EASL season.
However, the PBA later decided that the top two finishing teams of the already finished 2023 PBA Governors' Cup, namely TNT Tropang Giga and Barangay Ginebra San Miguel, will qualify instead.[13] Furthermore, Barangay Ginebra withdrew for undisclosed reasons and were replaced by semifinalists Meralco Bolts shortly prior to the start of the league.[14]
It was also determined that the qualified teams from Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan are based from the 2022–23 season instead of the 2021–22 season.[15] The qualified teams remained largely the same; Utsunomiya Brex originally qualified under the old format. The Chiba Jets qualified instead.
Hong Kong based Chun Yu Bay Area Dragons, a franchise team, were also expected participate. However, the EASL announced the Dragons' disbandment on 1 September 2023 reportedly due to financial reasons.[16] They were later replaced by the 2022–23 P. League+ runners-up New Taipei Kings.[17][18]
The league considers the P. League+ teams as the representatives of the "Greater China".[4]
Each team may have 12-men roster with two foreign players and an additional Asian player.[4]
The teams initially were drawn in two groups. A coin flipping mechanic were used; each champion in each domestic league were made to choose a coin side. The winner of the coin flip were placed on Group A while the other placed in Group B.[10][21]
Each club was to play all the other clubs twice in home and away matches starting from 12 October 2022 to February 2023, with two EASL Group Stage games taking place every Wednesday night.[4] The final four were to be play in a venue in Metro Manila in the Philippines in March 2023.[22][4][23]
Postponement and resumption
A few weeks before the supposed opening day, the league announced the cancellation of the home and away season, instead pushing through with a "Champions Week" that was initially announced to be held in Manila in early 2023. The COVID-19 pandemic was blamed for the cancellation.[24] Japan was later named the host country for this event.[25] The original groups for the postponed season were also the groupings for the Champions Week.
A new draw was held for the EASL season on 21 June 2023.[15]
In December, EASL announced that the Champions Week will be hosted by the qualifying Japanese teams, with the Utsunomiya Brex hosting the first six games, while the Ryukyu Golden Kings hosting the last six games at the Okinawa Arena.[25] The Champions Week would be tagged as a "special tournament" which would proceed the start of the inaugural season proper.[6]
