Hong Kong Eastern eye place in mainland China basketball league with Philippines venture
- City’s reigning A1 Division champions exploring opportunities to join the Commissioner’s Cup for 2024-25 season
Hong Kong Eastern are in talks to compete in the Philippines Basketball Association (PBA) season from November, as they look to eventually secure a place in China’s top league.
The reigning local A1 Division champions were exploring the opportunities to participate in the Commissioner’s Cup for the coming 2024-25 season, which runs from late November to early March next year.
Eastern officials said things are still in an “early” stage but that initial talks with the Philippines’ basketball governing body in Manila on Thursday were positive.
“This is part of our plans to support the government’s calls for the development of the sports industry,” Oliver Lee Wan-bok, the team’s manager, said. “We wish to bring competitive regional basketball to the city when Kai Tak Sports Park opens.
“We want to play in the PBA as well as the East Asia Super League [EASL] and our ultimate goal remains playing in the Chinese Basketball Association. We believe it’s a good idea to continue seeking regional exposure and play in the highest possible standard of basketball while we wait for progress on the mainland China front.”
The Commissioner’s Cup is expected to feature 12 teams, divided into two groups of six in a home-and-away format, giving each team 12 regular season games which ends on January 31.
