MANILA (Enzo Flojo's Asia on my Mind) - Different domestic leagues across Asia are currently neck-deep in playoff action and, not surprisingly, it's their respective national team stars who are taking center stage.

In China, only two clubs remain standing - the defending champion Beijing Ducks and the upstart chellengers, the Liaoning Flying Leopards. Beijing finished the CBA regular season at fourth place, under-performing and playing through injuries for most of their 38 games. They stepped it up in the playoffs, though, beating the Jilini Northeast Tigers and the league-leading GuangDong Southern Tigers in succession to stay alive in their hunt for back-to-back championships. With former NBA player Stephon Marbury and national team stalwart Sun Yue leading the way, the Ducks have flashed fine form and look to have the advantage over higher-ranked, but less experienced Liaoning.

For their part, the Flying Leopards have been one of the biggest surprises this season. In 2013-2014, Liaoning was plagued by a slew of injuries and finished in seventh place. They were effectively bounced in the first round of the playoffs by the Xinjiang Flying Tigers, who went all the way to the 2014 Finals before bowing to the Ducks. This year, however, Liaoning rose to the top, finishing in second place and defeating the likes of Guangsha and Qingdao to reach their first Finals since 2008. This is Liaoning's fourth Finals try, but they have never been able to bag the title. Armed with a young core of national pool players - Guo Ailun (21 years old), Li Xiaoxu (24 years old), and Han Dejun (25 years old) - and the homecourt advantage, the Flying Leopards seem like they have the best chance ever to finally cop the crown, but, of course, they’ll have to put in a lot of work to dethrone the mighty Ducks.

As that's happening, the Korean Basketball League (KBL) playoffs have just started with reigning champ Ulsan Mobis Phoebus and resurgent Wonju Dongbu Promy waiting in the Semi-Finals as the Seoul SK Knights, Changwon LG Sakers, Goyang Orions and Incheon ET Land Elephants battle it out in the Quarter-Finals.

After the first two days of the playoffs, national pool players Kim Jong-Kyu, Kim Si-Rae, Heo Il-Young and Kim Sun-Hyung have impressed. In Game 1 against Goyang, Kim Jong-Kyu and Kim Si-Rae of Changwon combined for 36 points on 13-of-22 field goal shooting as the Sakers won, 82-62. They struggled a bit in Game 2, with Goyang bouncing back to tie the series with a 76-72 victory, but look for both young guns to recover as the series progresses. National team veteran Heo Il-Young, who helped Korea get the gold medal in the 2014 Asian Games, was Goyang's spearhead in that encounter with 13 points.

In the other series, the match-up hinges on the performance of superstar Kim Sun-Hyung, who has been on the men's national team since 2010. As he is now entering the prime of his career, he is expected to control the fate of the Knights, who finished third in the team standings despite being in first place for most of the season. With his rare combination of speed, shooting, and athleticism, the 1.87m guard should be able to stamp his class and help the Seoul quintet move on to the next round.

Over in Chinese Taipei, the Super Basketball League (SBL) has also reached its knockout phase, with Yulon Luxgen facing Bank of Taiwan and Taiwan Beer playing against Kinmen Kaoliang Liquor (KKL). Yulon, powered by one of the continent's best shooters - Lu Cheng-Ju - has built a 2-0 series edge over Bank of Taiwan. In those games, Lu averaged 16.5 points and hit 2.5 three-pointers per game. Reigning MVP Liu Cheng, meanwhile, has been nothing short of great for Taiwan Beer, which also hold a 2-0 lead opposite KKL. Liu is putting up even better numbers this season than he did in 2013-2014, and if he is able to lead Taiwan Beer back to the Semi-Finals, then he should be a leading MVP candidate again.

Without a doubt, all the aforementioned players have great shots at making further impact not just in their domestic leagues, but in the context of their national teams, too.

Guo Ailun, Li Xiaoxu, and Han Dejun are seen as rising stars who should prop up China anew, while Sun Yue, if he is named to the national team pool, will serve as the veteran voice in a chorus of youthful talents.

Kim Jong-Kyu of Changwon is projected to be Korea's top center in the foreseeable future, while Kim Sun-Hyung is expected to be the national side's most potent guard at this year's East Asian Championship and FIBA Asia Championship.

As for Chinese Taipei, big things are in the horizon for Liu Cheng, who is seen as the heir apparent to iconic players like Lin Chih-Chieh and Tien Lei, both of whom look to be in the twilight of their international careers.

How will things play out? Will they be able to lead their clubs and, eventually, their national teams to new heights this year? We just have to wait and see.

Enzo Flojo

FIBA

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