East Asia Super League: Hong Kong Eastern facing ‘different level’ after losing first game
The two-time ABL winners, who joined the higher-grade competition in the summer, were beaten 78-67 by Japan’s B.League champions Hiroshima Dragonflies
Hong Kong Eastern’s regional-title-winners said they were playing on another level in the East Asia Super League (EASL) after losing in their tournament debut on Wednesday.
The two-time Asean Basketball League (ABL) winners, who joined the EASL in the summer, were beaten 78-67 by Japan’s B.League champions Hiroshima Dragonflies at the F-PICO Arena in Fukuyama.
However, Eastern’s Bosnian head coach, Mensur Bajramovic, backed his team to bounce back in the next match, when they host the Dragonflies at the Southorn Stadium in Wan Chai on October 30.
“We didn’t have the concentration and consistency both on the offensive and defensive ends to make the game closer to maybe have a chance to win,” he said. “This [league] was a different level to anything we’ve played before, and we were making mistakes that we usually don’t.
“But we can’t be totally disappointed with our first game; this is a new team for us [six players were signed in the off-season] and we didn’t have a very long time together.
“We will be better game by game and we will have a better game in the next one when we face the same opponent in Hong Kong.”
