Chiba Jets win cup in Cebu
East Super League's first home-and-home season wraps up
Cebu, the second largest city in the Philippines, has become the venue for the Eastern Premier Ultimate Four. When the organizers first announced that the Final Four would be held here, I was still a little confused as to why it was chosen.
Eastern Super League posters on the side of the stadium road
When I came here, I realized the purpose of Dongchao choosing this place. Sunshine, beach and basketball are the labels of this city. When I arrived in Cebu, it was already sunset. On the way to the hotel, one basketball court after another appeared on both sides of the road. In layman's terms, there are "wild courts" all over the place.
The Philippines as a basketball country, before coming here the author has already imagined the local people's obsession with this sport. However, when I watched a group of ragged local children, many of whom were even barefoot on the court, chasing the basketball together on the court under the afterglow of the setting sun, my heart was still touched.
Basketball hoops can be found everywhere, not only in the city, but also on the lonely island where everyone can find them as well. When I arrived at Nalusuan Island, which is about an hour's sail away from Mactan Island, I found that there were still a few locals on the island making shots towards the basketball hoop.
Locals playing basketball in Narusuan Island
Basketball, for them, may no longer be as simple as a sport, but more like a spiritual support, or already a daily routine of their lives. So when stepping into the Dunking Dome Arena on the night of March 10, and seeing a full house of Filipino fans there cheering with all their broken voices and hoarse throats, suddenly I was able to understand why the Eastern Premier League would bring the tournament to this place.
It is worth noting that the Final Four is the first international basketball tournament ever held in Cebu, according to the Eastern Super League. In other words, the Chiba Jets won Cebu's first "international championship" in basketball.
While the facilities at the Slam Dunk Dome Arena in Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu, are not exactly top-notch, Sports Biz understands that a new arena near the center of Cebu City is nearing completion, and more international basketball events may be held there in the future.
With the Ultimate Four tournament landing in Cebu, the second season of the Eastern Premier League, and the first of the home-and-away format, has come to a successful conclusion.On March 8, Eastern Premier League CEO Henry Kerins and COO Mark Fischer had an in-depth talk with media from mainland China in Cebu, reviewing the season and how they have been able to make a difference to the new season
Planning.
East Super CEO Bruce Lee (right) and COO Fusheng Ma (left)
From the first game kicking off on October 11, 2023 to the finals on March 10, 2024
During this period, whether it is the increase in audience or the expansion of the sponsor lineup, in Ma Fusheng's view, the East Super League is in a "progress" stage.
"I think we've grown very quickly since the beginning of the season. The opening phase of the season didn't have a lot of viewers compared to now, but as the season has progressed, by now we have about 5 million TV viewers. Also we only had a couple of sponsors at the beginning of the season to the finals now
There have been eight sponsors on board at this stage, so the season as a whole is progressing in all areas." Mafuso told Sports Business.
East Premier Ultimate Four Tournament backed by eight sponsors
Mr. Li believes that focusing on polishing the "product" of the East Super League is the focus of the whole company at this stage, compared to other aspects of the content. He said that the attraction of the East Super League is still in the tournament itself, such as the Ultimate Four stage of the several internationally renowned brands such as McDonald's, Philippine Airlines and Anta, are very good brands, and the two sides will continue to maintain a good working relationship.
16 teams planned for next season
Two new league teams will be added
After wrapping up the March 10th finals
After that, the East Super Team will quickly get into the new season after a short break
The preparation for the Conference is under way.
According to Lee, the East Super League will continue to negotiate with several sponsors from the Ultimate Four stage next, and it is expected that the sponsorship contract will be extended to the new season
Among them. On the other hand, Sports Business understands that the Eastern Super League will also open up more sponsorship categories in the coming days, so as to attract more new sponsors to join.
in the new season
In terms of team planning for the new season, Lee said
's Participating Team Program, expanding from eight to 16 teams for the 2023-24 season, which will include the addition of two new league teams. The expansion from eight to 16 teams will be a huge test of time and scheduling for the teams.
In particular, they have to juggle both the professional leagues of their home countries or regions and traveling outside of their home countries to participate in home and away matches in the Eastern Premier League. In the case of Chiba Jets, a B-League team participating in the Eastern Super League Final Four, they faced Gunma Leizuru on the evening of March 6, and then took a nearly five-hour flight to Cebu on the morning of the 7th to face PLG team Shimboku Kings the following night.
Such a tight schedule is the "norm" for teams in the Eastern Super League. At the press conference on March 7, when Lin Shuwei of the New North Kings was asked what the biggest feeling of the entire Eastern Premier League season was, he said one word was "tired".
Despite this, the teams participating in the East Super League still cherish the opportunity to play against the best teams in Asia, so fans were able to see that despite being physically very tired, Chiba Jets' Japanese men's basketball national player and ace guard Isaoaki Togashi played 32 minutes in the semifinals and put up a remarkable 28 points and 5 assists to help his team advance to the finals.
Jeremy Lin (1988-), Taiwanese-American professional basketball player (NBA)
He was unable to play against Isao Togashi due to injury.
So when the East Super League expanded from 8 to 16 teams, the experience of playing in such a tournament, while very tiring for them, was an opportunity to interact with East Asian teams. For the East Super League, they are obviously happy to create more high level tournaments, which not only means more exposure for sponsors, but on the other hand the tightness of the tournaments further binds them to the East Asian basketball audience.
Fans from as far away as Japan and South Korea cheered the game
When talking about the future development plan of the Eastern Super League, Bruce Lee and Ma Fusheng revealed two plans in succession, one is to bring together the top college basketball teams in East Asia, and the other is to create a women's basketball version of the Eastern Super League. However, they both said that this is the macro direction for the development of the East Super League, but their immediate focus remains to keep the East Super League polished.
