The two champions of the last PBA season are set to represent the league in the East Asia Super League (EASL) 2024-25 Season.

The league is putting its best foot forward and will be sending Commissioner’s Cup champion San Miguel and Philippine Cup titlist Meralco for the second season of the fledgling league’s home-and-away format.

The Beermen, who were also the runners-up of the all-Filipino conference, are bunched in Group A where they are scheduled to face Japan B.League champions Hiroshima Dragonflies, Korean Basketball League (KBL) runners-up Suwon KT Sonicboom, and P. LEAGUE+ runners-up the Taoyuan Pauian Pilots.

The Bolts, fresh off winning their very first PBA title, on the other hand, were placed into Group B, where they are facing up against Japan B.League runners-up the Ryukyu Golden Kings, KBL champions Busan KCC Egis, and P. LEAGUE+ champions New Taipei King.

“The PBA is excited to send two of its champion teams to compete in the EASL. The San Miguel Beermen and the Meralco Bolts showed their strength last season by winning the Commissioner’s Cup and Philippine Cup, respectively,” said PBA commissioner Willie Marcial in a statement.

“They will represent Filipino basketball with pride and we hope that one of them will be crowned the champion of East Asia next season,” he added.

Success has been elusive for Filipino teams in the EASL with SMB, along with fellow representative TNT, both coming out winless in the Champions’ Week in Japan in 2023.

The Tropang Giga returned the next year along with the Bolts who took the place of the Barangay Ginebra Gin Kings for the very first home-and-away season. They finished with similar 1-5 records and failed to advance to the Final Four held in Lapu-Lapu City in Cebu.

Despite the struggles for the Filipino teams in the league, EASL chief executive officer Henry Kerins believes PBA teams bring in a different level of competitiveness and they are hoping for the Filipinos to finally breakthrough this season.

“Filipino teams and fans bring great competitiveness and passion to EASL and we are delighted to confirm the participation of the San Miguel Beermen and the Meralco Bolts next season. We expect them to compete strongly for the championship, against the best teams from the rest of East Asia.”