The Taoyuan Pauian Pilots have clinched a spot in the EASL Finals Macau 2026. This marks their return to the EASL postseason for the second straight season after the team finished runners-up in the 2024-25 season. 

Taoyuan’s qualification, however, came from an 88-82 loss in Okinawa Arena Wednesday night to the Ryukyu Golden Kings. The loss also knocked them down from the No. 1 seed in Group B to the No. 2 seed. 

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So, how is all this possible?

Taoyuan’s loss today puts them at 4-2, with the Ryukyu Golden Kings vs. Meralco Bolts game on February 11 being the lone remaining game of the 2025-26 season left in Group B.

Because of this, Ryukyu is 4-1, and Meralco is 3-2. If the Golden Kings wrap up their group stage with a win over Meralco, then they would finish at 5-1 — leaving Taoyuan in second at 4-2 and Meralco in third at 3-3. This erases the need for any tiebreakers. However, if the Bolts win, EASL could have a scenario where three teams all finish at 4-2. 

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So, how has Taoyuan qualified based on that?

Aside from looking at records, when there’s a tie in record between teams, EASL first looks at the head-to-head wins and losses between all tied sides.

In the scenario where three teams finish 4-2, the tiebreaker expands to include only the games played among the three tied teams. In that case, Taoyuan, Ryukyu, and Meralco would each be 1-1 against the other two, giving all three teams the same 2-2 combined record in those matchups. So after the first tiebreaker, the three teams would still be deadlocked.

So now we move to the second tiebreaker: the overall point differential in games involving the tied teams.

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For Taoyuan:

Taking into account Taoyuan’s two total games against the Meralco Bolts and two total games against the Ryukyu Golden Kings, their total point differential is +9.

October 8th: Win vs RGK [94-80] – +14

November 2nd: Win vs MER [82-72] – +10

November 8th: Loss vs MER [76-85] – -9

February 4th: Loss vs RGK [82-88] – -6

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For Ryukyu:

Taking into account Ryukyu’s two total games against Taoyuan and their first game against Meralco before the rematch on the last day of the regular season, the Golden Kings’ current point differential is +1.

October 8th: Loss vs TYP [80-94] – -14

October 22nd: Win vs MER [81-72] – +9

February 4th: Win vs TYP [88-82] – +6

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For Meralco:

Taking into account Meralco’s two total games against Taoyuan and their first game against Ryukyu before the rematch on the last day of the regular season, the Bolts’ current point differential is -10.

October 22nd: Loss vs RGK [72-81] – -9

November 2nd: Loss vs TYP [72-82] – -10

November 8th: Win vs TYP [85-76] – +9

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Because of this, and assuming Meralco wins on Feb. 11, which would be the only way we enter this three-team tiebreaker with all teams at 4-2, it becomes mathematically impossible for both Ryukyu and Meralco to advance ahead of Taoyuan.

Ryukyu’s point differential would only drop from its current +1 if they lose, while Taoyuan’s +9 stays locked in no matter what. This means that any scenario of a Ryukyu loss will still put them below Taoyuan in the group standings. Meralco, as the winning team in these scenarios, will have the opportunity to leapfrog Ryukyu (and potentially Taoyuan) in the group standings, depending on the margin of victory.

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So how does Taoyuan factor into this?

If Meralco beats Ryukyu to create this three-way 4-2 tie, it will be impossible for both Ryukyu and Meralco to finish ahead of Taoyuan in point differential as explained above. That means Taoyuan is guaranteed to finish top two and therefore has officially qualified.

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Well, what if Ryukyu wins?

Finally, if Ryukyu wins, based on record, Meralco will be eliminated at 3-3, and Ryukyu will be the No. 1 seed in Group B at 5-1, followed by Taoyuan at 4-2.