ULAANBAATAR (Mongolia) - Four teams will make one last bid in reaching the continent's most prestigious club competition as the BCL Asia-East 2025 Final 4 gets rolling this weekend at the MBank Arena.
Taoyuan Pauian, New Taipei, Ulaanbaatar Xac, and Pelita Jaya will be the center of attention as two of these esteemed teams will earn the two remaining tickets to the highly awaited BCL Asia 2025.
Action begins on Friday, with the Pilots and the Kings opening the knockout crossover Semi-Finals at 18:00 local time in a battle between two of the most recognizable Chinese Taipei clubs in recent years.
Taoyuan are coming in as the favorites, having finished the Group Phase on top of Group A after winning all of their six games, with the last three all via big margin - by an average margin of 27.6 points, to be exact.
Confidence is also through the roof for this team as they're fresh off a championship run in the recent P. League+ season, where they beat the Taipei Fubon Braves in the best-of-7 Finals that went the distance.
It was their breakthrough PLG title, arguably the biggest highlight of what has been a splendid 2024-25 campaign for Coach Iurgi Caminos & Co that also included a runner-up finish in the East Asia Super League.
But booking a trip to the BCL Asia would make this season all the more memorable, and they would want to do so by beating the Kings in the opening salvo of what should be a Friday night special.
It's not lost on Lu Chun-Hsiang and the Pilots, though, that it won't be a walk in the park as they will be battling a Kings side gunning for the very same goal to further add to their lore as one of Chinese Taipei's elites.
While this New Taipei side is much younger compared to the usual team they've been going with domestically, there should be no reason for Taoyuan to fall complacent as their upcoming foes have proven themselves worthy.
A quick look-back would see that Coach Ryan Marchand's men finished with a 4-2 record in Group B, with prolific scorer Mike Efevberha leading the way and with locals like Su Pei Kai and Wang Po Chih helping out.
They're actually in the middle of the TPBL Playoffs and are set to face the Taipei Taishin Mars in the Semi-Finals but the focus for now will only be on the Final 4 in a bid to make their BCL Asia dream a reality.
Seeing action in the other Final 4 bracket, meanwhile, would be the Broncos and Pelita Jaya in a game set at 21:00 local time, with the former, of course, looking to ride homecourt advantage en route to the event proper.
This whole campaign is already an achievement per se for Mongolia's pride, considering that they fell short of advancing further in the BCL Asia Qualifiers last year after being beaten by Prawira Bandung in Round 1.
Now another Indonesian Basketball League outfit is standing on their way of reaching the Big Dance, and they are, without a doubt, bringing with them the lessons and whatnot from last year's heartbreaking run.
Unbeaten like the Pilots, Group B's no. 1 seed is entering the Final 4 with heads held high, having emerged as champions of the 2024-25 The League by beating Bishrelt Metal, 81-78, in Game 6 of the Finals last May 21.
The usual providers like Jordan Tolbert and Azbayar Altangerel came up big in the title clincher and they're definitely looking to do just the same in a bid to bring a Mongolian team to the BCL Asia.
But they will have to do that against a Pelita Jaya team that's also fighting for pride, as they're looking to bring the club back to the tournament after sweeping their way into it last year through the Qualifiers.
Now with Coach Justin Tatum manning the sidelines, it would be interesting to see if this present-day PJB would be able to accomplish that target, knowing that they will have to go through an undefeated crew.
The victors of the Semi-Finals will join 7 other teams to the BCL Asia 2025 on June 7-13 in Dubai, where the champion team will represent Asia in the FIBA Intercontinental Cup, FIBA's highest club competition.
FIBA