GAME NOTES: GROUP A — Hong Kong Eastern (0-2) vs. San Miguel Beermen (0-2)

Eastern and Beermen battle for their first win of the season.

December 16, 2024 — Southorn Stadium, Hong Kong SAR

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Where to Watch:

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The Hong Kong Eastern and the San Miguel Beermen tip-off at 20:10 CT. Here’s where you can catch the game!

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Hong Kong SAR:

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Watch the game on HOY TV (Channel 76).

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Philippines:

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Watch the game live or on replay on CIGNAL’s One Sports (free TV), One Sports+ (pay TV), or stream it on Pilipinas Live.

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Outside These Regions:

Visit the ‘Watch’ tab on the EASL website to find streaming options in your area.

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Get Your Tickets

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Get your tickets now at https://www.ticketflap.com/hkeastern-easl-vssanmiguelbeermen.

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Storylines:

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Battle of the Winless

Leung Ka Hin (#23) is one of Hong Kong Eastern's key players, but is just averaging 4.0 in two games.

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Both Hong Kong Eastern and the San Miguel Beermen enter Wednesday’s game winless.

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Eastern began their inaugural EASL campaign with back-to-back losses to B.LEAGUE champions, the Hiroshima Dragonflies. While they kept both games close, lapses in the fourth quarter led to defeat.

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San Miguel tipped off their EASL season at the 2024 EASL Tip-Off with a narrow loss to Suwon KT Sonicboom. This was followed by a 16-point defeat to the undefeated Taoyuan Pauian Pilots.

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Both teams need a win to keep their 2024 EASL Final Four hopes alive. Who will secure it first?

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PBA rivals

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Hong Kong Eastern is currently participating as a guest team in the 2024-25 PBA Commissioner’s Cup. The team has performed admirably thus far, placing second in the Elimination Round after securing five wins in their first six games, with their lone loss coming against Rain or Shine Elastopainters.

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The Beermen, meanwhile, sit in seventh place with a 3-2 record.

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After their EASL clash on Wednesday, they will face each other again on Dec. 22 for a PBA game. On Jan. 15, the teams will battle it out again one more time in an EASL matchup in PhilSports Arena in Manila.

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With three games against each other in less than a month, both Eastern and San Miguel will look for an upper hand on each other.

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Subtractions on both ends

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Both Hong Kong Eastern and San Miguel Beermen will be missing a key player ahead of Wednesday’s game.

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Eastern import Cameron Clark is out with a hip injury sustained in the 99-81 loss against Rain or Shine on Dec. 4. Clark was one of Hong Kong’s key contributors, averaging 18.5 points and 8.5 rebounds in his two EASL games.

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Meanwhile, San Miguel Beermen will be playing without one of their best defenders, Jericho Cruz. The 6-foot-1 guard was suspended following an altercation with Taoyuan Pauian Pilots forward, Alec Brown, in the team’s last game.

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With both teams a key player short, who will step up and lead their team to victory?

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Hong Kong Eastern (Hong Kong SAR) Players to Watch:

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#22 Kobey Lam — Guard, 6-foot-3

2024-25 EASL Averages: 8.0 points, 3.0 rebounds, 1.0 assists
Joined the Hong Kong Eastern in 2024
Lam attended college at University of Denver
Lam is from Toronto, Ontario, Canada

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#11 Glen Yang — Guard, 6-foot-4

2024-25 EASL Averages: 10.0 points, 2.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists
3x HKBA Champion with South China (2016, 2017, 2019)
Joined the Hong Kong Eastern in 2024
Yang attended college at Mount Royal University
Yang is from Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada

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#19 Chris McLaughlin — Center, 6-foot-10

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2024-25 EASL Averages: 22.5 points, 8.0 assists, 5.8 rebounds
2023 ABL Champions with Hong Kong Eastern
2023 ABL Defensive Player of the Year with Hong Kong Eastern
2023-24 HKBA Champion with Hong Kong Eastern
2023-24 HKBA Most Valuable Player with Hong Kong Eastern
2015-16 Team Leading Rebounder with Basket Swans Gmunden in Austria
Joined the Hong Kong Eastern in 2022
McLaughlin attended college at University of Victoria
McLaughlin is from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

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San Miguel Beermen (PBA — Philippines) Players to Watch:

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#13 Marcio Lassiter — Guard, 6-foot-2

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2024-25 EASL Averages: 8.0 points, 4.0 rebounds, 1.0 assist
Lassiter became the PBA’s all-time leader in 3-pointers made on Sep. 15.
10-time PBA Champion
8-time PBA All-Star
2022 Asian Games Gold Medalist
2018 PBA Mythical First Team
2013 PBA All-Defensive Team
2013 PBA Comeback Player of the Year
2012 PBA All-Rookie Team
Lassiter joined San Miguel Beermen in 2012
Selected as the 4th overall pick in the 2011 PBA Draft
Lassiter attended college at City College of San Francisco (2005-07) and Cal State Fullerton (2007-09)
Lassiter is from San Francisco, California, USA

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#77 Jaymar (CJ) Perez — Guard, 6-foot-2

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2024-25 EASL Averages: 7.5 points, 2.0 rebounds
2x PBA Champion with San Miguel Beermen (2022 Philippine Cup, 2023-24 Commissioner’s Cup)
2024 PBA Commissioner’s Cup Finals MVP with San Miguel Beermen
2024 PBA Commissioner’s Cup Best Player of the Conference with San Miguel Beermen
2x PBA All-Star with San Miguel Beermen (2023, 2024)
3x PBA Mythical First Team (2019, 2023, 2024)
2021 PBA Mythical Second Team with San Miguel Beermen
2019 PBA All-Defensive Team with Terrafirma Dyip
2019 PBA Rookie of the Year with Terrafirma Dyip
2019 PBA All-Rookie Team with Terrafirma Dyip
Selected as the 1st overall pick in the 2019 PBA Draft by Terrafirma Dyip
3x PBA Scoring Champion (2019, 2020, 2023)
2017 NCAA Philippines Most Valuable Player with Lyceum
2017 NCAA Philippines Mythical Team with Lyceum
Joined San Miguel Beermen in 2021
Perez attended college at San Sebastian and Lyceum.
Perez is from the Philippines. He was born in Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR

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#30 Quincy Miller — Center, 6-foot-10

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