JOHOR BAHRU (Malaysia) - Isaiah Briscoe and South China kept it simple while climbing the steep comeback trail in their eventual stunner of a win against Taoyuan Pauian in the BCL Asia-East Final 6 2026 Thursday.
"Keep chopping wood, go out there and have fun, play with confidence, and when the game is over, we'll see what happens," said the 30-year-old on the heels of their 110-103 victory at the Arena Larkin Indoor Stadium.
Clearly it worked as they dealt the Pilots their first loss of the season after going unbeaten in their first seven games, and the former NBA guard himself proved to be the perfect embodiment of their mentality.
He finished with 45 points, 20 of which he produced in the fourth quarter alone as he brought the HKA1 outfit back into the thick of the fight after being down by as many as 16 points - and took them home as well.
After Glen Yang gave them the lead for good with a three-pointer, Briscoe would go on to finish off their foes, sinking in a tough one-hander before drilling a triple for the 107-101 lead with 36.1 seconds left to play.
Not long after and the final buzzer rang, with South China clinching the no. 1 seed in Group B to sweep their way into the Semi-Finals - indeed an achievement in itself already for one of the league's newcomers.
All that is thanks to their new pickup and his all-time classic performance - literally and figuratively. He's reset the record for most points by a player in a BCL Asia-East game, six clear of the previous record set last season.
In case you're wondering, the old mark was at 39, which was made by Mike Efevberha to power the New Taipei Kings past Hi-Tech Basketball Club, 88-82, in a Group Phase encounter on May 5 of last year.
No other player was able to score that much even during the BCL Asia 2025 in Dubai, with Shabab Al Ahli star Deshawndre Washington the closest as he had 40 in two separate occasions in the opening round.
And in this season, Briscoe is the first to drop a 40-piece. The previous game-high record for the 2026 games was only at 35, made by Troy Gillenwater in Dewa United Banten's 99-94 win over Hi-Tech last April 15.
His output, furthermore, is the most in any BCL Asia event since Amir Saoud dropped 50 on the Liaoning Flying Leopards in 2018, when the meet was still known as the FIBA Asia Champions Cup, per available records.
Here's a list of the Top 6 scoring performances in the last two editions of BCL Asia-East, combined:
Player | Team | Game | Result | Date | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Isaiah Briscoe | South China Athletic | vs Taoyuan Pauian Pilots | 110-103 | May 21, 2026 | 45 |
Mike Efevberha | New Taipei Kings | vs Hi-Tech Basketball Club | 88-82 | May 6, 2025 | 39 |
Troy Gillenwater | Dewa United Banten | vs Hi-Tech Basketball Club | 99-94 | April 15, 2026 | 35 |
Byron Wesley | Bishrelt Metal | vs NS Matrix Deers | 98-86 | March 25, 2025 | 34 |
Accheaus Fields | Hi-Tech Basketball Club | vs Dewa United Banten | 97-103 | May 1, 2026 | 34 |
Jalen Harris | New Taipei Kings | vs South China Athletic | 107-99 | April 18, 2026 | 34 |
"Honestly, I've never seen a performance like that personally," admitted Yang, in awe of what his new teammate just did. "I've played with many great players, NBA-level players, but just the way he scores is like art."
"It's like iso magic every time, like you don't really need a play," added the steady combo guard, who also had himself a solid outing in the come-from-behind win with 22 points and 4 rebounds.
South China will now shift their attention to the knockout crossover Semi-Finals this Saturday and much of the attention will definitely be on Briscoe if he would be able to match - or better yet surpass - what he did.
We'll all be watching, that's for sure.
FIBA