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| Yuet Yeung Pok is one of three Hong Kong national team players who will join Eastern for the PBA Commissioner's Cup. FIBA (file photo) |
MANILA--Not all of Hong Kong's players flew back home after their FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers game against Gilas Pilipinas on Sunday night.
Some of them stayed put as they join Hong Kong Eastern ahead of its first game in the PBA Commissioner's Cup on Wednesday night.
Comparing Hong Kong's lineup from Sunday and the roster Eastern submitted to the PBA, Leung Shiu Wah, Yuet Yeung Pok, and Marco Leung are the players who have to remain in the Philippines for the Long Lions' Commissioner's Cup opener against the Phoenix Fuel Masters at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig.
Duncan Reid, who played for Bay Area in the 2023 Commissioner's Cup, had this to say to his national team comrades as it will be Eastern's turn to be the guest team in the mid-season conference.
"Enjoy it," Reid said.
The Dragons had a nearly dominating run in the 2023 PBA Commissioner's Cup, making it all the way to the finals with only a few defeats up to the semifinals before Barangay Ginebra halted their run in the championship series that lasted the full seven games.
Game 7, which took place at the Philippine Arena in Bocaue on Jan. 15, 2023, was attended by 54,589 fans, the most ever in a PBA game that impressed Reid a lot.
"The PBA has some of the best fans in Asia," Reid continued.
However, he also reminded Yuet and the Leungs to quickly learn the ropes of the PBA.
"The PBA has a very specific style. I played in China for two years, and the PBA style is very different to the Chinese style, so there's a lot of stuff that you can learn and develop," Reid further said.
He also reminded Shiu Wah, listed at six-feet-three, and Marco, listed at six-feet-four, to be wary of today's PBA guards, all the more that they're gonna have to see Chris Newsome, Scottie Thompson, and CJ Perez in action more often.
"The Filipino PBA guards are very skilled, and there's a certain type of offense that they push," Reid added, further saying that the Leungs must also be ready for the brand of physicality the PBA has.
Good thing for the Leungs and Yuet, they got to play against Newsome, Thompson, Perez, June Mar Fajardo, Calvin Oftana, Japeth Aguilar, and Justin Brownlee on Sunday night in a glimpse of what to expect beginning Wednesday.
"I think it's really good that they got to play against guys like June Mar, Scottie, and JB so they can see kind of what they're getting into. You're not going to have a PBA team that's as stacked as Gilas, but at the same time, you get to see the physicality and the skill," Reid further said.
He then believes the Gilas game could be an eye-opener for the Eastern guys as they now shift their attention to the PBA.
The other Long Lions listed for the Commissioner's Cup include former Dragons Hayden Blankley, Glen Yang, and Kobey Lam, Ramon Cao, Chu Tsz Yung, Cheung Yin Lung, Zhu Hao, Adam Xu, Muhammad Sheikh, Steven Guinchard, and Cameron Clark.
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