“East Asia Super League – The Terrific 12,” co-organized by Sports Bureau of Macao SAR Government and Asia League Limited (Asia league), has concluded its second day at Tap Seac Multi-sport Pavilion. In the Day Two competition, the Chiba Jets smashed the Blackwater Elite by 40 points, becoming the first team at the 2019 The Terrific 12 to top 100 points. The Shenzhen Aviators also bested 2018 The Terrific 12 champions the Ryukyu Golden Kings.

The second day’s matches began at 3pm with a face-off between Japanese and Korean teams. KBL Jeonju KCC Egis pulled off a hair-raising win over the Utsunomiya Brex 79-78, with the game in the balance until the final moments. Utsunomiya’s foreign import player Ryan Rossiter ruled the paint, gaining 30 points, 12 rebounds, and two blocked shots. Nonetheless, in the end, his final attack came up short. His teammate Yusuke Endo also scored 13 points and three assists. Egis battled with al its might, with four players scoring double-digit points, including foreign import player Leon Vernon Williams scoring 18 points and 16 rebounds; Kim Gookchan and Song Changyoung scoring 12 points; and Jung Changyoung scoring 11 points and six assists. Due to their loss on the first day, the victorious Jeonju KCC Egis did not get a chance to enter the Final Four. This greatly increases the chances of the Zhejiang Guangsha Lions, victorious on Day One, entering the Final Four.

In the second match, B.LEAGUE team Chiba Jets took on the PBA Blackwater Elite, ending in a “massacre” which saw the Jets crush their opponents 109-69. This 40-point differential is a big start to the Jets’ The Terrific 12 2019 showing, and makes them the first team in this year’s tournament to break 100 points. The Blackwater Elite’s The Terrific 12 journey has ended with this second consecutive loss. The Chiba Jets had six players score double digits this game, with point guard Yuki Togashi playing less than three quarters and still scoring 13 points and seven assists. Foreign import player Michael Parker scored 22 points and 13 rebounds, while Josh Duncan scored 20 points and nine rebounds. Shigehiro Taguchi, Kevin Hareyama, and Gavin Edwards all scored 11 points. On Blackwater Elite, Alex Stepheson scored 12 points and 11 rebounds, while Marqus Blakely scored 16 points and 12 rebounds, and Diego Miguel Dario scoring ten points.

At 7pm, the third game saw the CBA’s Liaoning Flying Leopards square off against Niigata Albirex Basketball of Japan’s B.LEAGUE. The Liaoning squad soundly trounced Niigata 110-82, a second consecutive win which earns them a spot in the Final Four. The game saw Liaoning’s new foreign import player Lance Stephenson continue his stellar performance from Day One, scoring 25 points, six rebounds, and six assists. Another Liaoning foreign import, Salah Mejri, continued to dominate the paint, racking up 29 points, five rebounds, and three blocked shots. Among domestic Chinese players, Cong Mingchen grabbed eyeballs with his 23-point performance, including sinking five of his seven three-pointers. On Niigata, foreign import player Nick Perkins scored 28 points and six rebounds. Niigata’s beating heart, captain Kei Igarashi, scored 14 points and six assists, while Keita Imamura followed on with his own 14 points.

At 9pm, 2018 The Terrific 12 champions the Ryukyu Golden Kings faced down the CBA’s Shenzhen Aviators. A high level of play from Shenzhen led to a handy 115-77 Shenzhen victory, keeping alive the Aviators’ hopes of making it to the Final Four. After their loss, the Golden Kings will find it practically impossible to advance. During the game, six of Shenzhen’s formidable squad hit double digits. The impact of foreign import players was obvious as Shabazz Muhammad put up 30 points and seven rebounds, while Pierre Jackson contributed 20 points, 14 rebounds, and nine assists. Teammates He Xining had 22 points, four rebounds, and four assists; Shen Zijie had 11 points and ten rebounds; and Zhao Yiming and captain Lu Yiwen both scored ten points. Ryukyu faced stifling Shenzhen opposition at every turn; except for 21 points and ten rebounds by foreign import player Demon Brooks, only Yuki Mitsuhara and Hayato Kantake hit a double digit point total, contributing ten points each. Overall, Shenzhen won 49 rebounds, 12 more than Ryukyu.