Macau: The Taoyuan Pauian Pilots advanced to the semifinals of the East Asia Super League (EASL) finals with an 89-69 win over the Seoul SK Knights. The game took place in Macau, where the Pilots maintained their lead from the outset, thanks to a three-pointer by star forward Lu Chun-hsiang just 13 seconds in.

According to Focus Taiwan, Treveon Graham was the standout performer for the Pilots, contributing a game-high 19 points in 26 minutes. Both teams saw four players scoring in double digits. The Pilots showed their dominance by outscoring the Knights 40-28 in the paint and 31-21 off the bench. Notably, both teams struggled with their three-point shooting, each registering below 25 percent.

With this victory, the Pilots, who are the defending champions of Taiwan's P.LEAGUE+ (PLG), improved their record against Korean Basketball League (KBL) teams in the EASL to 3-0. They are now set to face top seed Alvark Tokyo at 8 p.m. on Friday at Studio City in Macau, aiming for a place in the final.

Meanwhile, the New Taipei Kings, another team from Taiwan competing in the EASL, faced elimination after an 85-64 defeat to Japan's Utsunomiya Brex, the 2024-25 B.LEAGUE champions. The Brex will compete against the Ryukyu Golden Kings, another B.LEAGUE team, at 6 p.m. on Friday, with the victor advancing to the EASL final on Sunday.

The 2025-26 EASL champions are set to receive US$1.5 million in prize money, while the runners-up and third-place finishers will earn US$750,000 and US$350,000, respectively.