The Taoyuan Pauian Pilots have qualified for the 2026-27 EASL season following their 99-87 victory over the Taipei Fubon Braves on Sunday night. The win clinches the regular season championship in the P. LEAGUE+, which guarantees Taoyuan a spot in the championship game and, therefore, a place in next year's EASL campaign.

EASL takes the two teams that reach the P. LEAGUE+ Final each year for its following campaign. With only four teams in the 2025-26 P. LEAGUE+ season, the regular season champion automatically advances to the championship game, guaranteeing Taoyuan a place in the following EASL season.

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The return marks Taoyuan's third straight year in EASL. The Pilots have participated in the 2024-25 and 2025-26 seasons, finishing runners-up in both. In 2024-25, they fell to the B.LEAGUE's Hiroshima Dragonflies in the championship game. This past season, they came up short against the B.LEAGUE's Utsunomiya Brex.

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In 2025-26, Taoyuan finished second in Group B with a 4-2 record before a strong run to the EASL Championship Game, beating the KBL's Seoul SK Knights and B.LEAGUE's Alvark Tokyo by an average of 23 points.

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Domestically, it has been another dominant year for the Pilots, who are chasing their second straight P. LEAGUE+ title after winning the franchise's first championship in 2024-25. Taoyuan opened the 2025-26 campaign with a 12-0 run, the best start in P. LEAGUE+ history, and has barely slowed down since, sitting at 16-1 after Sunday's win. They clinched a playoff spot on March 30 and now hold the top seed with eight games still to play.

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Lu Chun-Hsiang led Taoyuan in scoring in both EASL and the P. LEAGUE+, averaging 18.8 and 19.1 points respectively, while ranking as the top local scorer in both leagues. The P. LEAGUE+'s all-time leading scorer and reigning league MVP, Lu earned his second straight All-EASL Team selection this season and became the first local player and only the second overall to reach 300 career EASL points.

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Alec Brown, EASL's all-time leader in blocks and the reigning P. LEAGUE+ Import of the Year, earned both Defensive Player of the Year and All-EASL Defensive Team honors this season. Guard Li Chia-Kang, the reigning P. LEAGUE+ Sixth Man of the Year, took home the same EASL award after averaging 13.1 points, 6.1 from his bench role, two assists, and 2.3 rebounds, making him Taoyuan's second-highest scoring local player.

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The P. LEAGUE+ regular season runs through the end of May, with the Pilots well-positioned to add another championship to what has already been a historic year.

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More EASL 2026-27 qualifier announcements will be coming in the near future.