Jets, Knights clash for EASL title

THE Chiba Jets and Seoul SK Knights arranged a dream showdown pitting the top two teams of the East Asia Super League (EASL) for the championship of its first-ever home-and-away season.

The top seeded Jets survived a huge fightback by upset-conscious New Taipei Kings for a 92-84 come-from-behind win, while the No. 2 Knights dethroned defending champion Anyang Jung Kwan Jang and Rhenz Abando in an all-Korean clash, 94-79, in Friday night’s Final Four before a capacity crowd at the Hoops Dome in Cebu.

The B.League side battles its Korean Basketball League counterpart on Sunday at 7 p.m. for the title and the $1-million prize money.

“Our job isn’t finished, but I’m really proud of the guys for finding a way to win,” said Chiba Jets coach John Patrick following the win against a resilient New Taipei side that played without injured star Jeremy Lin.

Yuki Togashi, the captain of the Japanese national team, willed the Jets back after trailing by as many as six late in the third quarter, finishing with a game-high 28 points on 6-of-13 shooting from three-point range.

The last of those treys tied the game for the last time at 82 with 3:14 to go before Shuta Hara drained his own threepointer to put Chiba on top for good, 85-82, heading into the final two minutes.

Former NBA player Xavier Cooks also had a monster game for Chiba with 24 points and 22 rebounds.

It was a heartbreaker of a loss for the Kings, who appeared ready to pull off an upset against a team that has stretched its unbeaten mark to seven games in the five-monthlong meet.