‘If it’s Friday, this must be Manila’: Hong Kong Eastern basketball team’s mad 48 hours
Eastern players become frequent fliers as they zigzag between Hong Kong and the Philippines to pursue success in multiple competitions
Chasing glory on several fronts has caught up with basketball club Hong Kong Eastern, who this week found themselves having to be in two places at once.
Players are flying to and from Manila several times to keep up with a schedule that at one point has them playing three times in 45 hours – gruelling even without matches being on opposite sides of the South China Sea.
Having sealed the local A1 Division regular season championship on Sunday, Eastern departed for the Philippines on Tuesday for their fifth East Asia Super League (EASL) group game, a match they must win to keep their Final Four dream alive.
However, some of the players will then jet back to Hong Kong after the Wednesday night encounter against the San Miguel Beermen to play on Thursday night in the playoff semi-finals of the local league in Wan Chai.
Several of the team then head back to Manila for a Friday afternoon fixture in the Philippines Basketball Association (PBA) Commissioner’s Cup, before the whole squad regather in Hong Kong afterwards.
