Black Bears Part Ways with Two Players; Replacements to be Announced

November 27, 2024 — Macau SAR

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The Macau Black Bears announced today (Nov. 27) that import forward Jeantal Cylla and Chinese Taipei naturalized forward Will Artino will no longer be with the team during the remainder of their 2024-25 East Asia Super League (EASL) campaign. 

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The two players, who both signed for Macau near the beginning of the season, played significant roles in helping the Black Bears to their 2-2 record.

“Jeantal Cylla and Will Artino bought into what we were trying to do and our style of play,” Macau Black Bears’ head coach Garrett Kelly said. “They got awarded for it. They moved into good situations and I’m happy for them. We celebrated them, we’ll follow their careers moving forward and, who knows, maybe we get them back someday.”

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Cylla is a 28-year-old forward who played NCAA Division I with the University of Arkansas. After signing with the Black Bears this summer, Cylla averaged 26.3 points, 5.5 rebounds, 2.8 assists, one steal and one block in four EASL games. His most memorable performance came on Oct. 23, when he scored 32 points on 67% shooting to help Macau upset the heavily favored New Taipei Kings on their home soil, en route to winning the EASL Player of the Game.

Cylla joined the Mongolian side Selenge Bodons of The League (Mongolian Basketball League) in Sukhbaatar, Mongolia on Nov. 8.

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Artino is a 32-year-old forward who played four years with the NCAA Division I team, Creighton University. Since graduating, he has made stops all over Asia, spending time in Chinese Taipei, Bahrain, Malaysia, and Macau SAR. After joining the Macau Black Bears in September, Artino made valuable contributions to the team in the East Asia Super League, averaging 18.0 points, 14.3 rebounds (3rd in the league), 3.0 assists, 2.0 steals and 1.5 blocks in four games.

Artino has also represented Chinese Taipei on the international stage following his naturalization status approval in Nov. 2021. The big man represented Chinese Taipei in the 2022 Asia Cup, the 2022 Asian Games, and the William Jones Cup.

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Artino signed with Kesatria Bengawan Solo of the Indonesia Basketball League (IBL) on Nov. 26.

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The Macau Black Bears will now be looking for replacement players ahead of their next game at the 2024 EASL Macau Classic on Dec. 11 at Studio City Event Center.