Eastern Sports Club (basketball) explained

Hong Kong Eastern
Nickname:HK Eastern
Leagues:A1 Division Hong Kong
Arena:Southorn Stadium
Capacity:2,000
Location:Hong Kong
Owner:Eastern Sports Club
Coach:Mensur Bajramović
Championships:3 Hong Kong A1 Division
2 ASEAN Basketball League
Hong Kong Eastern basketball team
T:香港東方籃球隊
S:香港东方篮球队
J:dung1 fong1 lung4 si1 laam4 kau4 deoi6*2
P:Dōngfāng Lóngshī Lánqiú Duì

The Eastern Sports Club basketball team, is a professional men's basketball team of the Eastern Sports Club.[1] The team also known as and Hong Kong Eastern for sponsorship reason.

Eastern competes in the Hong Kong A1 Division, and the ASEAN Basketball League since 2016.[2] It has won the Hong Kong A1 championship three times, in 1956, 2017 and 2023.

History

Eastern basketball team is a section of Eastern Sports Club (officially known as Eastern Athletic Association Football Team Limited). In 2015 season the team won and promoted to 2016 Hong Kong A1 Division Championship.[3] The team became fully professional in 2016.[3] [4] In the same year, the club would adopt the name Hong Kong Eastern and join the ASEAN Basketball League (ABL).[5]

They won the 2016–17 ABL season, and finished as semifinalists for the next two seasons. They also became Hong Kong A1 Division champions in 2018. The ABL's 2019–20 season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It is scheduled to resume in 2023 with Eastern as among its participating teams. Eastern also plans to join the Chinese Basketball Association in the future.[5]

Hong Kong Eastern won its second A1 Division championship in 2024.[6]

In 2024, Eastern is also looking to play in the Philippine Basketball Association as a guest team in the 2014 Commissioner's Cup. It also plans to join the East Asia Super League.[7]

Home arenas

Season by season

ChampionsSeason championsRunners-upPlayoff berth
SeasonLeagueRegular seasonPlayoffsHead coach
FinishPlayedWinsLossesWin%
2016–17ABL1st20164Won Semifinals (Heat) 2–0
Won ABL Finals (Slingers) 3–1
Edu Torres
2017HKA12nd761Lost Semifinals (Winling) 1–2
2017–18ABL2nd20146Lost Semifinals (Alab Pilipinas) 0–2
2018HKA13rd752Won Semifinals (Winling) 2–1
Won HKA1 Finals (South China) 3–2
2018–19ABL7th261313Won Quarterfinals (Alab Pilipinas) 2–0
Lost Semifinals (Slingers) 0–2
2019HKA14th963Won Quarterfinals (Fukien) 1–0
Lost Semifinals (South China) 0–2
2019–20ABL9th1037Season cancelled*Jordan Brady
2021–22HKA14th963Won Quarterfinals (Pegasus) 1–0
Won Semifinals (Tycoon) 2–0
Lost HKA1 Finals (South China) 0–3
Željko Pavličević
2023ABL2nd14104Won Semifinals (NS Matrix) 2–0
Won ABL Finals (Heat) 2–1
2023-24HKA12nd9100Won HKA1 Finals (Tycoon) 3-1Mensur Bajramović

Current roster

2024 BCL Asia qualifiers roster

Past roster

2021–22 ASEAN Basketball League roster

Notable players

To appear in this section a player must have either:

Local players

Imports

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Hong Kong Eastern. ASEAN Basketball League. 29 April 2018.
  2. Web site: Hong Kong Eastern Long Lions Confirms Participation In ABL. ASEAN Basketball League. 23 November 2016. 30 July 2016.
  3. News: https://www.sportsroad.hk/archives/83357. zh:東方來季組香港史上首支全職籃球隊!. 8 July 2015. 7 January 2019. sportsroad.hk. Hong Kong. zh-hk.
  4. News: Eastern set aside HK$10 million to become first professional basketball team in Hong Kong. 9 July 2015. 7 January 2019. South China Morning Post. Hong Kong. en-hk.
  5. News: Hong Kong Eastern target ABL success to boost bid to join Chinese competition . 10 December 2022 . South China Morning Post . 28 November 2022 . en.
  6. Web site: A1 Division Basketball 2023-2024, News, Teams, Scores, Stats, Standings, Awards - asia-basket . 2024-03-18 . www.asia-basket.com.
  7. News: Bacnis . Justine . HK Eastern '80-percent' likely to join PBA Commissioner's Cup, says Marcial . 9 August 2024 . Tiebreaker Times . 8 August 2024.
  8. Web site: 2020-07-15. Asean Basketball League season cancelled without a winner. 2020-07-15. The New Paper. en.