LAPU-LAPU CITY, Cebu — The Chiba Jets and Seoul SK Knights set up a dream duel featuring the top two teams of the East Asia Super League 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 matches before a capacity crowd at the Hoops Dome.
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 triple to put Chiba on top for good, 85-82, heading into the final two minutes.
Former National Basketball Association player Xavier Cooks also had a big game for Chiba with 24 points and 22 rebounds.
