What Happened:

Not even early foul trouble or ice-cold shooting could stop Busan KCC Egis from picking up their third straight victory of the EASL season, as they defeated the Taipei Fubon Braves, 88-80, at the Busan Sajik Gymnasium

The victory did not come without its own struggles for KCC, as they faced a difficult situation when import Shawn Michael Long was assessed three personal fouls and a technical foul all in the span of the first seven minutes of the game. As a result, the Braves went time and time again to Marko Todorovic, who feasted in the paint. The Montenegrin big man pounded Busan in the paint, as he already had a double-double at the half, with 15 points and 10 rebounds

The Braves spent the majority of the third period hunting for the fifth foul of Long, but the import did an excellent job staying away from the disqualifying foul. And while that happened, his squad started to chip away at the lead of the Braves, as they trimmed down the seven-point halftime deficit to claim a two-point lead at the end of the third quarter, 63-61.

Further disaster would strike for Taipei, as Todorovic got into his own foul trouble, and ultimately fouled out after being whistled for a personal foul and a technical foul back-to-back. Without Todorovic to man the paint, Busan gave Taipei a taste of its own medicine, as Heo Ung, Louis King and Long attacked the paint. They wound up outscoring the Braves 25-19 in the quarter to win going away in the end.

King emerged with a game-high 27 points and 12 rebounds, while Long shook off the foul trouble to finish with 21 points, and Heo Ung had 20 points for Busan. Todorovic had a double-double of 25 points and 19 rebounds in the loss for the Braves.

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What It Means

Busan has shown the ability to play in all kinds of environments- whether hostile or favorable to them. In this victory against the Braves, they showed that they are able to win also when one of their key players is out of commission, as King played only seven minutes in the first half because of foul trouble. This is clearly a different KCC Egis squad that struggled to put together wins in previous EASL seasons; they now remain undefeated and are on top of Group B.

For the Braves, they might be able to chalk this one up to rust after not being able to play since Tip-Off, but they will still look at this as a wasted opportunity to send a message to the rest of the EASL. Fortunately for Taipei, they will still have a lot of opportunities to do just that this season.

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Player of the Game:

Despite the uncertainties of whether Long would be able to stay in the game, one thing remained constant- Louis King was a certified bucket.

Scoring when his team needed him the most, King shook off a slow start to still finish with 27 points, 16 of those coming in the second half.

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Super Statistic: Third Pair

When Heo Hoon stepped on the floor, they added a little bit to the EASL lore. They became the third pair of brothers to play together in the EASL. The other two? Jeremy and Joe Lin who played for the New Taipei Kings, while Rondae and Rahlir Hollis-Jefferson both played for TNT Tropang Giga.

Heo Ung had a splendid game with 20 points, while Heo Hoon had 9 points and 6 assists for Busan.

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Next Up

The Taipei Fubon Braves will have a chance to right the ship when they face Nagasaki Velca on December 9, 2026, at home at the Taipei Heping Basketball Gymnasium.

Busan KCC Egis, on the other hand, will look to ring in the new year with a bang as they challenge Macau Hou Chon on December 29, 2026.

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