Dragonflies Overtake Pilots in Group A After Handing Taoyuan Their First Loss

December 25, 2024 – Taoyuan Arena, Taoyuan City

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The Hiroshima Dragonflies hand Taoyuan Pauian Pilots their first loss after defeating the P. LEAGUE+ side 84-73 in Taoyuan Arena.

As a result, Hiroshima overleaps Taoyuan at the top of Group A, with the tiebreaker currently in hand.

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Dragonflies import Dwayne Evans earned his first EASL Player of the Game honors after scoring a game-high 33 points, the most by a Hiroshima player this season.

Post-Game Triple:

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1. Pilots struggle without Graham

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Taoyuan Pauian Pilots were missing star import Treveon Graham after the forward exited the P. LEAGUE+ game against the Tainan TSG GhostHawks on Dec. 17 with a plantar fasciitis injury.

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Graham was EASL’s second-leading scorer, averaging 28.0 points in three games this season.

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His presence was evidently missed.

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Without Graham to draw defenders, his frontcourt running mate Alec Brown was harassed defensively all game. Brown, who was averaging 24.7 points in three games coming into Wednesday, scored a season-low 11 points. Local star Pai Yao-Cheng scored just 4 points, shooting 29% from the field.

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2. Dragonflies Jump to First

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Following Wednesday’s win, the Hiroshima Dragonflies not only handed the Taoyuan Pauian Pilots their first-ever EASL loss, but also overleaped them to sit first in the Group A standings.

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Despite now sharing the same 3-1 record, the Dragonflies currently own the tiebreaker through head-to-head victories.

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Hiroshima also has an 11-point difference in their head-to-head matchup, meaning the Pilots will have to win by more than 11 points on Jan. 22, 2025, when the two teams face each other again in Hiroshima, to regain the tiebreaker between the two teams.

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With two Group Stage games remaining for each team, the fight for Group A just got a lot juicier.

3. Blackshear-Evans Combo

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The Dragonflies went with the import pairing of Kerry Blackshear and Dwayne Evans for the first time this season.

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Nick Mayo was left outside looking in after playing the first three EASL games of the season.

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Blackshear and Evans combined to score 45 of the team’s 84 points, while also combining to grab 22 rebounds.

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EASL Player of the Game: Dwayne Evans - Hiroshima Dragonflies

Hiroshima Dragonflies import Dwayne Evans won his first EASL Player of the Game honors this season after recording a double-double, scoring 33 points on 54% shooting while grabbing 11 rebounds. He found a bit of range in his shot on Wednesday as well, going 3-for-7 from deep.

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Dragonflies with an eight-point lead with 1:05 to go, Evans hit a straightaway 3-pointer to seal Taoyuan’s fate, putting the game out of hands.

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Evans, who missed the team’s first two games of the EASL season due to injury, recorded 19 points and 11 boards in his first game against Suwon KT Sonicboom. 

Stat of the Game: 35:25

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The Taoyuan Pauian Pilots took their first and only lead at the 08:35 mark of the first quarter when Kuan Ta-You nailed a 3-point shot to make it 5-2. The lead would last for 1:18, as Takuto Nakamura answered back with a 3-pointer of his own.

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Since the tie, the Dragonflies jumped ahead at 06:07 and never looked back, holding onto the lead for 35 minutes and 25 seconds of the game.

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Quotes of the Game: 

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Dwayne Evans on the win:

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“It feels great. It’s a really important win for us coming off of a loss. Everyone played well today. Happy to come out with a win.”

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Next Games:

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Taoyuan Pauian Pilots: Away vs. Hiroshima Dragonflies (B.LEAGUE) - Jan. 22, 2025

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Hiroshima Dragonflies: Home vs. San Miguel Beermen (PBA) - Jan. 8, 2025