Where: Xinzhuang Gymnasium 

When: Saturday, December 6, 5 p.m. CST

Team Records: New Taipei Kings (2-2) / Xac Broncos (3-0)

Where to Watch: Ticket Information / Broadcast Information

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‍Projected Starters 

New Taipei Kings

PG: Joseph Lin — 182cm / 69kg

SG: Lee Kai Yan — 182cm / 80kg

SF: Austin Daye — 207cm / 91kg

PF: Jayden Gardner — 210cm / 104kg

C: Sani Sakakini — 204cm / 102kg

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Xac Broncos 

PG: Barsbold Baatar-Erdene — 183cm / 79kg

SG: Ian Miller — 187cm / 90kg 

SF: Ikhabayar Chuluunbaatar — 190cm / 80kg

PF: Azbayar Altengerel — 204cm / 90kg

C: Efe Odigie — 203cm / 111kg

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TEAM STATISTIC LEADERS 

New Taipei Kings 

Points: Sani Sakakini — 26.5 (7th-best) 

Rebounds: Sani Sakakini — 9.3

Assists: Lin Yan Ting — 4.0 

Steals: Lee Kai Yan — 1.8

Blocks: Sani Sakakini, Austin Daye — 0.5 

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Xac Broncos 

Points: Ian Miller — 30.3 (2nd-best)

Rebounds: Efe Odigie — 13.7 (4th-best)

Assists: Barsbold Baatar-Erdene — 5.0 

Steals: Efe Odigie — 1.7 

Blocks: Azbayar Altangerel — 2.3 

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THE RUNDOWN 

The Xac Broncos, one of just two undefeated teams in EASL, come into this matchup against New Taipei at a perfect 3–0. New Taipei, meanwhile, are fresh off a 93-87 win over the Changwon LG Sakers on November 19, which brought them back to 2-2.

These two sides know each other well. They first met on November 1 in Ulaanbaatar, where the Broncos dismantled the Kings 90-76. Broncos guard Ian Miller exploded for 40 points, hitting an EASL single-game season high eight 3-pointers. Center Efe Odigie was another standout for the Mongolian champions, grabbing 21 rebounds. On the New Taipei side, Asian import forward Sani Sakakini led the way with 24 points and, on that night, became just the fifth player in EASL history to surpass 200 career points.

With a win, the Xac Broncos would become the first team to clinch a spot in the EASL postseason, and they would do it with two games still in hand. For New Taipei, a loss would not eliminate them, but falling to 2-3 with only one game left and that game on the road would leave the Kings with almost no room for error.

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THE KINGS 

New Taipei looked sharp in its last EASL win over LG, weathering a fierce comeback from the reigning KBL champions to hang on and move back to 0.500 on the season before the FIBA break. Now, they have even more firepower with a major new addition.

On November 25, the Kings signed guard Jalen Harris, a former 2020 NBA second-round pick and CEBL standout. Recently naturalized as a Jordanian international, Harris featured in the last two FIBA Asia qualifying games on November 28 and December 1, pouring in an incredible 64 points across just two outings. His 42-point performance on December 1 against Syria was the second-highest scoring game ever in FIBA World Cup qualifying history.

Beyond the hype surrounding Harris, New Taipei will once again lean on its frontcourt duo of Sani Sakakini and Jayden Gardner. Both are averaging close to double-doubles and more than 20 points per game. Sakakini also joined an elite club in NTK’s last game against LG, becoming just the second player ever to reach 200 points and 100 rebounds in an EASL career.

In their previous meeting with the Xac Broncos, the Kings had no answer for Ian Miller’s offensive explosion and struggled to score themselves, shooting just 30.4 percent from the field. Well rested and no longer dealing with a long road trip, as they were in Ulaanbaatar, New Taipei will be eager to flip the script, turn the result around, and get their revenge.

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THE BRONCOS

The Broncos recently climbed to No. 1 in the latest EASL power rankings and do not look like they’re slowing down anytime soon.

Riding the heroics of Ian Miller, who is averaging a league second-best 30.3 points per game, the Broncos have been the model of consistency. They are one of only two teams, along with the B.LEAGUE’s Utsunomiya Brex, to field the same starting five in every game among teams that have played multiple contests.

The Broncos play a scrappy, hustle-first brand of basketball, anchored by the defensive presence of their frontcourt duo Efe Odigie and rising star Azbayar Altangerel. Altangerel still holds the season high for blocks in a single game with four, recorded in a win at EASL Tip Off 2025 in Tokyo, while Odigie is putting up a dominant 25.3 points and 13.7 rebounds per game.

From the box scores, the stats and the film, it is clear that no team has truly been able to match the Broncos so far. They lead the league in defense, holding opponents to just 74 points per game, and own the best average margin of victory at 19 points.

But can the New Taipei Kings play spoiler in their final home game of the 2025 to 2026 season?

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SPOTLIGHT STORYLINE 

CLINCHING EASL FINALS 

The biggest storyline here is whether the Xac Broncos can become the first team in the 2025-2026 EASL season to clinch a postseason spot at the EASL Finals. It would be a major shock to the league’s history books, as no expansion team has ever gone undefeated through its first two games, let alone start 4-0 and secure a playoff berth. 

A win on Saturday over New Taipei, a team the Broncos have already beaten, would not only secure their place in the next round but also place them among the league’s elite. They would become just the third team in EASL history to start a season 4-0, joining the B.LEAGUE’s Chiba Jets, who went a perfect 8-0 on their championship run in 2023 to 2024, and the B.LEAGUE’s Ryukyu Golden Kings, who opened the 2024 to 2025 season with four straight wins before finishing fourth.

If it was not clear already, Mongolian basketball is for real.