# 2023–24 East Asia Super League

The 2023–24 East Asia Super League was the first 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. 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, the start of the EASL regular season was postponed to October 2023.
The Chiba Jets are the inaugural EASL champions after defeating Seoul SK Knights in the final in the Hoops Dome in Lapu-Lapu City, Philippines.

## Team allocation

Four leagues are represented for the 2023–24 EASL, namely the champions and runners-up of the Japanese B.League, the Korean Basketball League, the Philippine Basketball Association, and the Taiwanese P. League+.
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. 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. 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. Furthermore, Barangay Ginebra withdrew for undisclosed reasons and were replaced by semifinalists Meralco Bolts shortly prior to the start of the league.
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. 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. They were later replaced by the 2022–23 P. League+ runners-up New Taipei Kings.
The league considers the P. League+ teams as the representatives of the "Greater China".
Each team may have 12-men roster with two foreign players and an additional Asian player.
| League | Country or region | Berths |
| Franchise team | Hong Kong | 1 0 |
| P. League+ | Chinese Taipei | 1+1 |
| B.League | Japan | 2 |
| Korean Basketball League | South Korea | 2 |
| Philippine Basketball Association | Philippines | 2 |

### Qualified teams

| Team | Domestic league standing |
| Chun Yu Bay Area Dragons | N/A (EASL franchise) |
| Taipei Fubon Braves | 2022–23 P. League+ champions |
| New Taipei Kings | 2022–23 P. League+ runners-up |
| Ryukyu Golden Kings | 2022–23 B.League champions |
| Chiba Jets | 2022–23 B.League runners-up |
| Anyang Jung Kwan Jang Red Boosters | 2022–23 Korean Basketball League champions |
| Seoul SK Knights | 2022–23 Korean Basketball League runners-up |
| TNT Tropang Giga | 2023 PBA Governors' Cup champions |
| Meralco Bolts | 2023 PBA Governors' Cup semifinalist |

## Preparation
### Original draw and format

The initial official draw for the 2022–23 EASL season was held on 28 June 2022 at the Shangri-La at the Fort, Manila in Taguig.
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.
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. The final four were to be play in a venue in Metro Manila in the Philippines in March 2023.

### 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. Japan was later named the host country for this event. 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.

## Champions Week

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. The Champions Week would be tagged as a "special tournament" which would proceed the start of the inaugural season proper.

## Group stage
### Group A

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PF | PA | PD | Qualification |
| 1 | Chiba Jets | 6 | 6 | 0 | 546 | 450 | +96 | Semifinals |
| 2 | Anyang JKJ Red Boosters | 6 | 4 | 2 | 542 | 537 | +5 | Semifinals |
| 3 | TNT Tropang Giga | 6 | 1 | 5 | 491 | 536 | −45 | |
| 4 | Taipei Fubon Braves | 6 | 1 | 5 | 464 | 520 | −56 | |
* 1 2 TNT Tropang Giga 177–175 Taipei Fubon Braves

### Group B

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PF | PA | PD | Qualification |
| 1 | Seoul SK Knights | 6 | 4 | 2 | 475 | 438 | +37 | Semifinals |
| 2 | New Taipei Kings | 6 | 4 | 2 | 467 | 483 | −16 | Semifinals |
| 3 | Ryukyu Golden Kings | 6 | 3 | 3 | 479 | 453 | +26 | |
| 4 | Meralco Bolts | 6 | 1 | 5 | 469 | 516 | −47 | |
* 1 2 Seoul SK Knights 161–147 New Taipei Kings

## Final round

The final round was held at the Hoops Dome in Lapu-Lapu City, Philippines.
| Semifinals | Semifinals | Final | Final |
| Chiba Jets | 92 | | |
| New Taipei Kings | 84 | | |
| New Taipei Kings | 84 | Chiba Jets | 72 |
| | | Seoul SK Knights | 69 |
| Seoul SK Knights | 94 | Seoul SK Knights | 69 |
| Anyang JKJ Red Boosters | 79 | | |
| Anyang JKJ Red Boosters | 79 | Third place | Third place |
| | | New Taipei Kings | 76 |
| | | Anyang JKJ Red Boosters | 78 |

### Semifinals

    Note: All times are Philippine Standard Time (UTC+8).
* 8 March 2024 17:00
* Boxscore
| Chiba Jets | 92–84 | New Taipei Kings |
| Scoring by quarter: 32–25, 18–22, 16–20, 26–17 |||
| Pts: Togashi 28 Rebs: Cooks 23 Asts: Togashi 5 | | Pts: Jo. Lin 21 Rebs: Manigault 6 Asts: Jo. Lin 5 |
* Hoops Dome, Lapu-Lapu City
* 8 March 2024 20:00
* Boxscore
| Seoul SK Knights | 94–79 | Anyang JKJ Red Boosters |
| Scoring by quarter: 23–26, 22–14, 22–18, 27–21 |||
| Pts: Warney 38 Rebs: Warney 16 Asts: Choi W. 10 | | Pts: Carter 21 Rebs: Carter 9 Asts: Park 9 |
* Hoops Dome, Lapu-Lapu City

### Third place game

* 10 March 2024 16:00
* Boxscore
| Anyang JKJ Red Boosters | 78–76 | New Taipei Kings |
| Scoring by quarter: 18–13, 26–20, 20–24, 14–19 |||
| Pts: Park 29 Rebs: Carter 15 Asts: Choi 5 | | Pts: Manigault 18 Rebs: Manigault 10 Asts: Jo. Lin 7 |
* Hoops Dome, Lapu-Lapu City

### Final

* 10 March 2024 19:00
* Boxscore
| Seoul SK Knights | 69–72 | Chiba Jets |
| Scoring by quarter: 16–21, 18–16, 20–14, 15–21 |||
| Pts: Warney 22 Rebs: Warney 17 Asts: Oh J., Warney 5 | | Pts: Togashi 24 Rebs: Mooney 16 Asts: Togashi 7 |
* Hoops Dome, Lapu-Lapu City Attendance: 4,234