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| Meralco will be part of the EASL's opening night action. Dennis Acosta (file photo) |
MANILA--The SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay will be the site of the 2024-2025 EASL season opening night festivities.
As announced on Wednesday, the home-and-away cagefest will open shop on Oct. 2 with the two PBA representatives, San Miguel and Meralco, agreeing on a ground-sharing deal for their home stands.
The Beermen, last season's Commissioner's Cup champions will face the Suwon KT Sonicboom, the KBL runners-up, in the first game at 6:10 p.m., while the Bolts, the reigning Philippine Cup champions, will follow suit against the Macau Black Bears, the runners-up of the Zamboanga leg of TAT, at 8:10 p.m.
The Black Bears and the Hong Kong Eastern Long Lions have been added to the participating EASL teams this season to represent China's Greater Bay Area region.
As of Aug. 14, the PBA is finalizing an agreement with Hong Kong Eastern for them to become the guest team in the Commissioner's Cup that will begin right after the November window of the FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers.
The Long Lions begin their EASL quest on Oct. 16 with a road game against the Hiroshima Dragonflies at the F-Pico Arena in Fukuyama, Japan.
On the same night, the Ryukyu Golden Kings will welcome back former star Allen Durham when they take on the Bolts at the Okinawa Arena.
Eastern and Macau will finally get to play at home on Oct. 30 against Hiroshima and Ryukyu, respectively, but it may also take place at a single arena since they are set for 6:10 and 8:10 p.m. tip-offs too.
For sure, though, the Black Bears will play a home game in Macau as they host Jeremy Lin and the New Taipei Kings in the main game of the EASL Mid-Season Classic on Dec. 11 right after a showdown between the Sonicboom and Taoyuan Pauian Pilots.
SMB and Meralco will once again share the same home arena on Nov. 13 as they face Taoyuan and Busan, respectively, at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig.
The EASL Final Four is set on March 7 and 9 at a still-to-be-determined city.
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