MANILA -- The East Asia Super League will expand to 10 teams for its 2024-25 season, with Hong Kong Eastern and the Macau Black Bears set to enter the competition.

The teams will play their home games in Hong Kong and Macau, respectively, bringing a full season of EASL action to the Greater Bay Area for the first time.

The Hong Kong and Macau sides will face off against the best teams from Chinese Taipei, Japan, Korea and the Philippines, to decide East Asia's champion.

Hong Kong Eastern and the Macau Black Bears will join the EASL for its 2024-25 season. Handout/EASL"EASL is getting bigger and it's getting better. It was always our ambition to expand and bring in more leagues, representing more regions in Asia. We have accelerated those plans due to the strong demand from the regional leagues to join, and their readiness to do so," EASL chief executive Henry Kerins said.

"The 2024-25 Season now includes two powerful teams from two amazing cities, in one of the biggest basketball markets in the world – China's Greater Bay Area. Both teams have great ownership and ambitions to be major brands in Asian basketball," he added.

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Eastern are one of Hong Kong's most storied teams and are the reigning domestic champions. The team won their third domestic A1 Division title in 2023. They are also a two-time winner of the ASEAN Basketball League (2016-17 and 2023).

Eastern have been placed into Group A for the 2024-25 Season Group Stage, in which they will play against B.LEAGUE champions the Hiroshima Dragonflies, Korean Basketball League (KBL) runners-up the Suwon KT Sonicboom, P. LEAGUE+ runners-up the Taoyuan Pauian Pilots, and PBA Governors' Cup champions the San Miguel Beermen.

"Hong Kong has been striving hard for a professional basketball team to represent the city at the highest level. Now, Hong Kong Eastern will do that, as we take on East Asia's best teams in the EASL 2024-25 Season. Eastern wants to be a major force in Asian basketball and to put Hong Kong on the map as a basketball powerhouse," Hong Kong Eastern Team Leader Wilson Choi said.

Meanwhile, the Macau Black Bears were formed in 2018 as Macau's first-ever professional team. The team are the reigning Macau basketball league champions and have also represented the region in the ASEAN Basketball League and The Asia Tournament.

The Black Bears have been placed into Group B for the 2024-25 Season Group Stage, in which they will play against B.LEAGUE runners-up the Ryukyu Golden Kings, KBL champions the Busan KCC Egis, P.LEAGUE+ champions the New Taipei Kings, and PBA Philippine Cup champions the Meralco Bolts.

"The Black Bears showed their strength in the ABL in recent years. We are investing so we can compete more strongly and challenge the best teams in Asia in EASL. We are proud to represent Macau and the wider Greater Bay Area in the EASL 2024-25 Season," said Macau Black Bears' Lukas Peng.

Full details on the matchups for the EASL 2024-25 Season will be unveiled when the game schedule is announced in the coming weeks. The arena venues for the home games of Eastern and the Black Bears will also be announced soon.

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