The Seoul SK Knights have fallen painfully short in their last two EASL appearances, losing in the championship match each time.
LAPU-LAPU CITY — The East Asia Super League finally unleashed its long-awaited home-and-away platform for the 2023-24 season, and amidst what has been a breakthrough effort filled with surprising twists and turns, one thing has remained inevitable.
A showdown between Korean Basketball League rivals Seoul SK Knights and Anyang Red Boosters.
While their respective seasons in Korea’s domestic league have gone in opposite directions, the two Finals protagonists from last season’s KBL and EASL jousts once again find themselves meeting in a playoff setting, this time in the semifinals of the Final Four weekend here.
After losing both championships last year, the SK Knights look to finish the job this time.
“I think it’s also just a bigger thing for us,” longtime Seoul import Jameel Warney said.
“The last two events the EASL [had] for us, we were in second place,” he added.
Aside from losing last year’s EASL title to Anyang, the SK Knights also fell painfully short in the 2019 Terrific 12 Tournament in Macau.
There, Seoul lost to Lance Stephenson and the Liaoning Flying Leopards in a thrilling championship game, 82-83.
“We just wanna finally be in first place,” Warney said.
In the narrow four-team field set to compete at the Hoops Dome, the SK Knights are among the favorites, especially with Warney leading the charge with 37.3 points per game in EASL games.
Seoul looks book another EASL final as the SK Knights take on the defending champion Red Boosters at 5:00 p.m. Friday.