NEW TAIPEI CITY (Chinese Taipei) - Another chapter of the Taipei Derby will be written when Taoyuan Pauian and New Taipei lock horns anew in the BCL Asia-East 2026 this Saturday at the Xinzhuang Gymnasium.
Game time is set at 17:00 local time, with the Pilots looking to continue their unbeaten run as they've won all of their four games thus far, the very reason why the P.League + side has been sitting atop Group B.
Coach Iurgi Caminos & Co. are coming into the bout with the mental edge over their TPBL counterparts, too, having beaten them twice in as many outings in the pan-regional league that serves as a BCL Asia qualifier.
It could be recalled that these two squads faced one another during the 2025 competitions' Semi-Finals, which saw Taoyuan Pauian submit a dominant showing on the way to an 81-62 victory to reach the Big Dance.
They'd cross paths again in the Group Phase of this year's edition, but the result stayed the same as the orange-and-blue won via rout as well, 110-85, at the University of Taipei Tianmu Gymnasium in Shilin District.
Needless to say, they'd want to make it three in a row in their head-to-head matchup, but the Pilots have become aware as well that it won't be any easy, as they will be taking on a different Kings this time around.
After an uncharacteristic 0-2 start into the new season, New Taipei have rolled to back-to-back victories, evening out their record to 2-2 in the standings and, more importantly, injecting new life to their Final 6 aspirations.
Their most recent win, you wonder, was an 80-79 decision against no less than the defending BCL Asia-East champions in Chinggis Broncos last April 19 thanks to Jalen Harris' game-winning split from the line.
The Broncos, coincidentally, were also the last team which the Pilots beat. The latter came away with the narrow 82-78 victory, as Alec Brown and Will Artino conspired to lift their side in the rematch of last year's Final.
So, it should be another layer worth noting when the two Chinese Taipei teams that sent the Mongolian powerhouse skidding duke it out in a meeting that could also be crucial in their hopes for the next round.
The New Taipei-Taoyuan Pauian meeting will be the last of the Chinese Taipei caravan. To get a wider view of the entire BCL Asia-East 2026 Group Phase that's about to conclude in a few weeks, click here.
FIBA