Taipei: The Taoyuan Pauian Pilots have secured Taiwan’s first-ever spot in the East Asia Super League (EASL) championship game with a 71-64 comeback victory over Japan’s Ryukyu Golden Kings on Friday.

According to Focus Taiwan, this victory was described by the EASL official website as an “upset.” Pilots forward Lu Chun-hsiang asserted his stardom by scoring a game-high 24 points, with four players in both teams reaching double figures. This win also marked the first time a Taiwanese franchise has defeated a Japanese team in the EASL Final Four.

Lu expressed his emotions after the game, saying, “I was moved to tears just now because we all played so hard, fought together, and were able to win.” He credited his teammates for their collective effort, emphasizing, “You could see that all of us played all-out on the court, as if it were our last game.”

Despite leading by 16 points at one stage, the game tightened in the final six minutes when Ryuichi Kishimoto’s three-pointer put the Golden Kings ahead 60-58. However, the Pilots responded with a decisive 9-0 run over the next five minutes, overcoming a significant deficit in offensive rebounds that saw the Golden Kings have 22 more field goal attempts.

Lu dedicated the win to the Pilots’ fans, acknowledging their support at Studio City, which made him feel like he was “playing on home court even when it wasn’t.” The Pilots are now set to face the Hiroshima Dragonflies on Sunday, aiming for the US$1 million EASL championship prize.

The Dragonflies, who had defeated the Pilots twice in the group stage, earlier held off the New Taipei Kings 81-65, setting up a third-place playoff between the Kings and the Golden Kings. When asked about the Pilots’ upcoming challenge against Hiroshima, Lu stated that the team approaches challenges with a positive mindset and is not preoccupied with being Taiwan’s last hope for an EASL title, adding, “As for whether we’re No. 1 or not, I’ll let the public talk the talk.”