Where: Brex Arena Utsunomiya 

When: Wednesday, February 11, 7 P.M. / 7:10 P.M. (On-air / Tip-off) JST

Team Records: Utsunomiya Brex (3-2) / Taipei Fubon Braves (2-3) 

Where to Watch: Ticket Information / Broadcast Information  

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‍PROJECTED STARTERS 

Utsunomiya Brex 

PG: D.J. Newbill — 193cm / 96kg

SG: Shinji Takashima — 191 cm / 90kg

SF: Makoto Hiejima — 191cm / 87kg 

PF: Grant Jarrett — 208 cm / 110kg

C: Gavin Edwards — 206cm / 112kg

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Taipei Fubon Braves

PG: Chen Yu Wei — 183cm / 83kg

SG: Archie Goodwin — 196cm / 91kg

SF: Chou Kuei Yu — 193cm / 95kg

PF: Mouhamed Mbaye —  205cm / 100kg

C: Aaron Geramipoor — 213cm / 123kg

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‍TEAM STATISTIC LEADERS 

Utsunomiya Brex: 

Points: Isaac Fotu — 28.0 

Rebounds: Isaac Fotu — 9.7 

Assists: D.J. Newbill — 7.2 (2nd in EASL)

Steals: D.J. Newbill — 1.8 

Blocks: Grant Jerrett — 0.5 

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Taipei Fubon Braves: 

Points: Archie Goodwin — 30.6 (1st in EASL) 

Rebounds: Mouhamed Mbaye — 5.6 

Assists: Archie Goodwin — 4.6

Steals: Chou Kuei Yu — 1.4 

Blocks:  Mouhamed Mbaye — 1.2 

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‍THE RUNDOWN 

It’s winner-take-all on the final gameday.

In Utsunomiya, the Brex and the Taipei Fubon Braves meet for the second time this season, with the winner punching a ticket to the EASL Finals in Macau alongside the KBL’s Seoul SK Knights, who clinched qualification on January 28.

Their first meeting delivered an instant classic. In the league’s opening game of the season in Taipei on October 8, the Braves edged the Brex 109–107 in overtime. Archie Goodwin erupted for 43 points, still the highest single-game scoring output of the season and the most ever by a player in an EASL debut, in a headline duel with Brex star D.J. Newbill, the two-time reigning B.LEAGUE MVP.

Now they meet again with everything on the line. The winner advances to the EASL Finals in Macau, and the loser is out.

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THE BREX 

Utsunomiya enters this game off an 89–86 win over Hong Kong Eastern on February 4, extending its streak to two straight victories and moving above .500 for the first time this season at 3–2. The Brex currently sit second in Group B.

During this stretch, the focus has been on D.J. Newbill as expected, but Grant Jerrett has quickly become a major factor. After missing Utsunomiya’s first three EASL games with an injury that sidelined him since the start of the season, Jerrett returned ahead of the Brex’s January 21 matchup and has delivered in the last two games, averaging 24 points and seven rebounds. The Brex have leaned into his spacing and interior presence, opting to go with Jerrett in place of Isaac Fotu.

Newbill remains the engine. Even in a quieter outing by his standards last time out, he finished with 16 points, five assists, and four rebounds, and his control of the game will be central against a Taipei Fubon side that has yet to hold an opponent under 80 points this season.

At their best, the reigning B.LEAGUE champions have shown they can match up with anyone in the competition. With a Finals berth on the line, Utsunomiya will be looking to turn recent momentum into a spot in Macau.

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THE FUBON BRAVES

In many ways, Taipei Fubon enters this game trending in the opposite direction of Utsunomiya. After opening the season 2–0 and standing as the then-last unbeaten team in EASL play, the Braves have dropped three straight and have not won since a 95–81 victory over Hong Kong Eastern on December 13.

Even through the skid, Archie Goodwin has remained the headliner, leading the league at 30.5 points per game. In Taipei’s most recent outing, he poured in 35 against Seoul SK, though the KBL side closed the game out and secured its place in the EASL Finals. With fellow import forward Troy Gillenwater now out after playing four games for the Braves, Taipei is searching for consistent support alongside Goodwin. Aaron Geramipoor and Mouhamed Mbaye are two names to watch after both finishing with double-digit scoring last time out.

Taipei has already shown it can beat Utsunomiya, but that October 8 overtime win came under a different set of circumstances. This time, it is the final gameday, the winner advances to Macau, and the loser is done.

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SPOTLIGHT STORYLINE 

Winner Takes All 

This is the second meeting between the two teams, after Taipei Fubon claimed a 109–107 overtime win over the Utsunomiya Brex in their first showdown on October 8.

With Utsunomiya at 3–2 and Taipei Fubon at 2–3, a Brex win would lift them to 4–2 and send them through to the EASL Finals. At 4–2, Utsunomiya would be level on record with the Seoul SK Knights. Since the two teams split their season series, seeding would come down to point differential in their head-to-head matchups. Utsunomiya beat SK 97–89 (+8) on October 22, then fell 84–78 (-6) on December 17, leaving the Brex at +2 overall compared to SK’s -2. That would put Utsunomiya in position to advance as the No. 1 seed out of the group with a win over Fubon.

If Taipei Fubon wins, both teams would finish 3–3. In that scenario, the Braves would have a 2–0 head-to-head record against the Brex, which is the first tiebreaker under EASL regulations, sending Taipei Fubon through alongside Seoul SK as the group’s No. 2 seed.