Japan’s B.League teams Hiroshima Dragonflies and Ryukyu Golden Kings scored separate tournament-opening victories in the East Asia Super League (EASL) October 16 game day on their respective home floors in Fukuyama and Okinawa. 

Hiroshima got their opening win via a 78-67 decision over Hong Kong Eastern at F-Pico Arena. The Dragonflies led for much of the game against Eastern, who are coming in as newcomers in this brand new EASL season.

Hiroshima got key contributions from everyone in the roster led by Kerry Blackshear Jr. who tallied 17 points, 11 rebounds, and 5 assists. Nick Mayo had 14, followed by Masato Ichikawa with 11 and Ryo Yamazaki with 10. The Dragonflies shot 46 percent from the field overall and made 12 threes in the game to fuel their first win.

Hong Kong’s American imports Cameron Clark and Christopher McLaughlin led the way for their team with 24 and 20 points respectively but it was not enough as there were no other players who scored 10 points or more other than Glen Yang. 

Over at Okinawa, the Ryukyu Golden Kings won a tight one over the Meralco Bolts, 77-74. This was the third meeting between the two teams in the EASL after having a 1-1 split last season. 

The Golden Kings avenged their overtime loss last season with this close win after sustaining the Bolts’ furious 4th quarter run to end the game.

Ryukyu built their largest lead at 19 points, 56-37, midway through the 3rd quarter until Meralco, led by their American import DJ Kennedy, started chipping away in the final frame.

The Bolts eventually got to as close as three in the final possession of the game before their other American import Allen Durham missed the potential game-tying three at the buzzer for the game’s final points.

Kennedy had a huge game with 30 points and 12 boards while Durham added 18 points, 9 rebounds, and 6 assists as Meralco dropped to a 1-1 record. The Bolts recorded their opening win against the Macau Black Bears at the EASL Tip Off event in Manila last October 2.

American imports Vic Law and Jack Cooley spearheaded the Golden Kings’ attack with 18 points apiece while Yoshiyuki Matsuwaki and Yoshiya Uematsu provided ample support with 9 points each as Ryukyu recorded their first win of the season.