Where: Jamsil Students’ Gymnasium 

When: Wednesday, January 28, 7:00 p.m. CST

Team Records: Seoul SK Knights (3-2) / Taipei Fubon Braves (2-2)

Where to Watch: Ticket Information / Broadcast Information 

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PROJECTED STARTERS 

‍Seoul SK Knights 

PG: Kim Nak Hyun — 184cm / 88kg 

SG: Oh Jae Hyun — 186cm / 85kg

SF: An Young Jun — 195cm / 95kg

PF: Darryl Monroe — 198cm / 115kg

C: Jameel Warney — 199cm / 112kg

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Taipei Fubon Braves

PG: Archie Goodwin — 196cm / 91kg

SG: Wu Yung Cheng — 186cm / 86kg 

SF: Chou Kuei Yu — 193cm / 95kg
PF: Mouhamed Mbaye —  205cm / 100kg

C: Aaron Geramipoor — 213cm / 123kg

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TEAM STATISTIC LEADERS 

Seoul SK Knights

Points: Jameel Warney — 26.6
Rebounds: Darryl Monroe — 11.4

Assists: Darryl Monroe — 4.6
Steals: Oh Jaehyun — 2.3

Blocks: Jameel Warney — 1.2

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Taipei Fubon Braves

Points: Archie Goodwin — 29.5 

Rebounds: Mouhamed Mbaye — 6.3

Assists: Archie Goodwin — 4.5

Steals: Chou Kuei Yu — 1.8

Blocks: Mouhamed Mbaye — 1.0 

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THE RUNDOWN 

Seoul SK and the Taipei Fubon Braves meet for the second and final time in the regular season, with major postseason implications on the line. Seoul SK enters the matchup as the Group A leaders at 3-2 and will be hosting their final regular-season game. The two sides last met on December 24, 2025, when Seoul SK pulled off an 88-78 come-from-behind win in Taipei, using a dominant 32-15 third quarter to flip the game in their favor.

In that first meeting, Seoul SK leaned heavily on its core. Jameel Warney finished with 25 points, while Daryl Monroe added 20, with both players logging the full 40 minutes. Arvin Tolentino provided a crucial spark, scoring 24 points in nearly 30 minutes, including four made 3-pointers. For the Braves, Archie Goodwin led the way with 26 points and five assists in a strong individual performance.

This game carries clear stakes for both sides. A Seoul SK victory would officially clinch their place in the EASL Finals, making them the first team of the 2025–26 season to secure qualification. For the Taipei Fubon Braves, a win would keep them second in Group A while pushing them above .500 with one game remaining, setting up a decisive final day in the race for postseason positioning.

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THE BRAVES

For the Taipei Fubon Braves, this is a big one, with a chance to build momentum heading into the final gameday. They’ll be shorthanded without Troy Gillenwater, an EASL December Team of the Month selection who departed the team last week, so the spotlight naturally shifts to Archie Goodwin.

Goodwin has been one of the league’s most reliable scorers all season. He leads the Braves at 29.5 points per game, third in EASL overall, and he’s No. 1 among players with two or more games played. Taipei will need his full three-level scoring package against Seoul SK.

The key, though, is finding production beyond Goodwin. In Fubon’s first meeting with SK, Chou Kuei-Yu stepped up with 14 points on 62.5% shooting and hit two big threes.

Now, with a thinner frontcourt, the next-man-up minutes likely fall to Mouhamed Mbaye and Aaron Geramipoor. Geramipoor made his first EASL start against Seoul SK on December 24 and scored 12 points, while Mbaye leads Taipei in rebounds (6.3) and blocks (1.0). If the Braves are going to survive without Gillenwater, Mbaye’s activity on the glass and around the rim could be the difference.

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THE SK KNIGHTS 

This one serves as Round 2 for Seoul SK’s EASL Finals push. In their last game on January 7 in Hong Kong, SK had a chance to clinch, but Hong Kong Eastern forced overtime late and then blew it open in the extra period to win 96–83, sending SK back to the drawing board.

Now they’re back in control. SK have looked great as of late, domestically climbing the KBL standings to fourth at 21–14 and still sit top of Group A. They’re at full strength, with their frontcourt anchors Jamil Warnie and Daryl Monroe available, no major injury concerns, and a matchup against a Taipei Fubon team they already beat once. 

With the stakes clear and the personnel in place, SK’s confidence should be high going into this one.

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SPOTLIGHT STORYLINE 

CLINCH NOW… OR REGRET IT LATER

The biggest storyline here is simple, but the consequences are massive. Seoul SK can clinch a spot in the EASL Finals with a win over the Taipei Fubon Braves on Wednesday night. A victory would move SK to 4–2, and there would be no mathematical path that keeps them out of the Finals, marking their return to the postseason for the first time since the league’s inaugural 2023–24 season.

But if SK loses, things quickly get complicated, and qualification is no longer in their control. Seoul SK loses the head-to-head tiebreaker against both Utsunomiya Brex and Hong Kong Eastern, which is the league’s first tiebreak rule when teams are level in the standings. Against Brex, SK won one game by six points but lost the other by eight. Against Eastern, SK won by seven but lost by thirteen. That leaves the overall point differential as the deciding factor, which brings everything back to Taipei Fubon.

In the first meeting, Seoul SK won 88–79, a nine-point margin. If the Braves win this time and do so by more than nine points, Seoul SK would be in serious danger of missing the postseason altogether. In other words, this is a clinching game for SK, but also a razor-thin margin game if it slips away. And if it does slip away, it would not be a quick answer. SK would be forced into an agonizing wait, watching the final results roll in and not knowing their fate until February 11.