What Happened

The Taoyuan Pauian Pilots are heading back to the EASL Championship Game, defeating Alvark Tokyo 102-76 in the largest margin of victory in EASL postseason history. It was a game of two very different halves. Alvark came out firing, draining 13 three-pointers in the first half and building a lead as large as 15. 

Then the shots stopped falling. The reigning Emperor's Cup champions hit just two more perimeter shots for the remainder of the game, and Taoyuan made them pay.

The turning point came at the start of the third quarter — a Will Artino to Alec Brown alley-oop tied the game at 54-54 and shifted the momentum entirely. Taoyuan had trailed by four entering the period and led 79-65 by the end of it. 

The numbers in the second half tell the story. Taoyuan outscored Alvark 52-22 after halftime, dominated the paint 70-18 for the game, held a 21-4 edge in second-chance points, and outscored Tokyo's bench 37-20. Artino led all scorers with 26 points and 11 rebounds while Treveon Graham added 24. 

For Alvark, Marcus Foster notched a team-best 21 points and Shuto Ando tacked on 12.

What It Means

Taoyuan's win sets up an EASL Championship Game between the reigning P.LEAGUE+ and B.LEAGUE champions. The Pilots will face the Utsunomiya Brex on Sunday, March 22 — with the title of Asia's best on the line.

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Player of the Game: Will Artino

Will Artino was everywhere. The Taoyuan big man finished with a game-high 26 points, 11 rebounds, and a game-high plus/minus of +25, shooting 71.4% from the field and drawing 11 free throw attempts. His physical presence inside was the engine behind Taoyuan's dominance in the paint and on the boards, and the numbers — 70-18 in paint points, 21-4 in second-chance points — reflect just how much damage he caused.

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Super Statistic: 26

Taoyuan's 26-point winning margin is the largest in EASL postseason history. The previous record of 18 points was set by eventual champions Hiroshima Dragonflies against New Taipei on March 7, 2025 — back when the league's playoff format consisted of just four teams. That record had already been broken in this postseason by Utsunomiya's 21-point win over New Taipei three days prior, only for Taoyuan to go and surpass it again just days later.

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Next Up

Sunday is Championship Day. Alvark Tokyo and Ryukyu Golden Kings open things up in the Battle for Third at 15:10, with Taoyuan and Utsunomiya following in the Championship Game at 18:10.