Brex wins 2026 title with early-match ‘gold rush’

The Utsunomiya Brex won the East Asian Super League (EASL) 2026 title last night at Studio City’s Event Center.

With the win (90-81) over the Taoyuan Pauian Pilots, the Brex became the third Japanese team to win the EASL in a row after the Chiba Jets in 2024 and the Hiroshima Dragonflies in 2025.

For the Pilots, it was the second missed final in a row after being beaten (84-80) by the Dragonflies in 2025.

After beating the Ryukyu Golden Kings in the semifinals (103-96), the Brex started the final in a true “gold rush,” with a breathtaking attack that gave them a 15-0 lead in the first few minutes.

Later on, this early advantage proved crucial, as even though the Pilots staged several strong recoveries, it was not enough to beat Brex’s initial effort.

Despite a less effective second quarter, at halftime, Brex’s lead had shrunk to 19 points (51-32) after the Japanese team had closed the first quarter with a 26-point lead (39-13).

The Pilots’ recovery continued in the third quarter, but the three-point gain (21-24) was just too slow to cope with the huge advantage that the Brex had accumulated from the first quarter.

In the fourth and final quarter, the Pilots staged another stronger recovery, also taking advantage of several Brex mistakes to cut the deficit by seven points (18-25), but it was just not enough.

In the end, Brex made greater use of their superior accuracy from the three-point line, with a 46.3% shooting rate, compared to the Pilots’ 26.3%, as well as fast-break points (21 to 9).

Highlights of the match included Treveon Graham with 21 points, surpassing Brex’s Makoto Hiejima**, who scored** 19 points in the last seconds of the game. Brex’s Gavin Edwards was also a standout with nine rebounds, as was D.J. Newbill with eight assists.

Golden Kings take third in epic game

In the other match of the final day of the EASL Finals 2026, the Ryukyu Golden Kings beat Alvark Tokyo by one point (76-77) in an epic battle decided in the last minute.

In a match with the scoreboard always level, the Golden Kings went into halftime ahead (32-38), but in the second half, Alvark managed to regain the lead until the last minute.

When everything seemed set for an Alvark win, the Tokyo team failed to score in two consecutive possessions. The first allowed the Golden Kings to move ahead by one point (76-77), and in the final attack with just a few seconds to play, Alvark failed once again to score with a final three-point attempt that went well off target.

Unexpectedly, the Golden Kings secured the win and third place in EASL 2026 after losing their chance to reach the final on Friday, when a dramatic comeback by the Utsunomiya Brex saw them win (103-96).