What Happened

The Utsunomiya Brex defeated Hong Kong Eastern on the road 89-86 to climb above .500 for the first time this season and move to 3-2 in Group A.

In front of a packed Southorn Stadium, Brex set the tone early, leading 26-18 after one and stretching the margin to 47-33 at halftime. Midway through the third, Utsunomiya’s advantage ballooned to a game-high 22 at 57-35, before Eastern launched a furious comeback.

Hong Kong trimmed the deficit to 70-60 by the end of the third and then tied it 77-77 with five minutes left. But key misses down the stretch, rushed half-court possessions, and a disciplined Brex offense that managed the clock halted the rally.

Grant Jerrett led all scorers with 26 points, with Gavin Edwards adding 20. For Hong Kong, Dominic Gilbert scored 21, while Ivan Yang provided a major spark off the bench with 19 points in 18 minutes.

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What It Means

For Hong Kong, this is the end of the road. With their regular season now complete, Hong Kong Eastern finish 2–4 and are officially eliminated from EASL Finals contention.

As for Utsunomiya, the win lifts the reigning B.LEAGUE champions above .500, but they are still not safe. In their final group game against the visiting Taipei Fubon Braves of the P. LEAGUE+, the Brex must win to secure the last EASL Finals berth in Group A alongside the Seoul SK Knights.

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Player of the Game: Grant Jerrett 

Grant Jerrett earned his first-ever EASL Player of the Game honor in just his second EASL appearance, pouring in a game-high 26 points with six rebounds and two assists. The Utsunomiya big man was ultra-efficient, going 10-for-15 from the field.

A long, athletic frontcourt weapon who can also stretch the floor, Jerrett scored at all three levels. He mixed in floaters, finishes at the rim, and pick-and-pop threes, helping push the Brex one step closer to a postseason spot.

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Super Statistic: 22 

The magic number for leads and comeback efforts was 22. Utsunomiya’s biggest lead of the night was 22, stretching the margin to 57–35 with five minutes left in the third quarter.

From that point on, Hong Kong Eastern nearly flipped the game entirely. Eastern ripped off a 42-20 run over the next 10 minutes, and by the midway point of the fourth quarter, they had outscored the Brex by 22 in that span to bring the game all the way back level.

In the end, the comeback fell just short, but to be down 22 and then outscore your opponent by the same number? Hong Kong made it a fight, and it still came down to a three-point game at the final buzzer.

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Next Up

Hong Kong’s season ends in front of its home fans at Southorn Stadium, while Utsunomiya still have one more regular-season game to play. On Wednesday, February 11, the Brex host a do-or-die matchup against the Taipei Fubon Braves.

The Braves beat Utsunomiya 109-107 in overtime on October 8, 2025 at EASL Tip-Off Taipei to open the season. A Brex win on February 11 would move Utsunomiya to 4–2 and eliminate Taipei at 2-4. But if Taipei win, both teams would finish 3-3, and the Braves would advance by sweeping the head-to-head series 2-0.