The Bay Area Dragons, a Greater China team participating in the East Asian Super League (EASL), a competition between East Asian basketball teams, suddenly ceased operations.
EASL announced on the 5th, "With the participation of New Taipei Kings (Taiwan), we have decided to suspend operations in the Bay Area. 카지노사이트탑
We have made an important decision to focus on smooth and efficient league operation and strengthen our capabilities."
EASL CEO Matt Beyer said, “We thank the Bay Area clubs for their excellent performance in the 2022-2023 season.”
EASL did not provide any other detailed explanation.
Bay Area is a new club founded to represent the Greater China region in the EASL with the support of the Hong Kong Basketball Association (HKBA) and the International Basketball Federation (FIBA), and was launched in Hong Kong in 2021.
In the inaugural EASL Champions Week held last March, they played the first match of Group B against South Korea's Seoul SK and lost 84-92 in a close match.
Afterwards, they won 96-90 against Japan's Utsunomiya Brex.
Andrew Nicholson, a foreign player who played for Korea Gas Corporation in Daegu, played an active role as the team's main gun.
According to Hong Kong's South China Morning Post (SCMP), the entire team received a sudden notice of contract termination on the 1st.
This newspaper reported that this was just two weeks after recruiting five players.
Brian Gurjian, head coach of the Australian national team and coach of the Bay Area, said in an interview with the Philippine daily Inquirer, "I was preparing (for the new season), but it was shocking."
The Bay Area temporarily relocated to Manila, Philippines and participated in the Philippine Professional Basketball Association (PBA) in the wake of the novel coronavirus infection (Corona 19) outbreak last year, so the PBA is also reacting with embarrassment.
This is because the league schedule needs to be adjusted.
According to the Inquirer, PBA Commissioner Willie Marshall, who was notified of the Bay Area's dissolution, will convene an emergency board meeting to address the issue.
EASL announced that the New Taipei Kings of the Taiwanese professional basketball P League+ will join in Bay Area's place.
New Taipei is the league runner-up team in the 2022-2023 season and is the team played by Byron Mullins, a foreign player who played for Busan KT (currently Suwon KT).
In February 2020, as COVID-19 spread in Korea, Mullins suddenly left KBL in the form of a voluntary resignation, saying he would return to the United States.
“We are focused on building on the club’s legacy by participating in top-level competitions,” New Taipei owner Phil Chen said via EASL.
“We are very excited to be able to compete against the best professional teams in East Asia in the EASL.” said.