Louis King scores 44 as KCC beat Nagasaki Velca 98-83 in the EASL meeting of the Korean and Japanese champions

Louis King scored 44 points on Wednesday night, and Busan KCC Egis needed nearly all of them. The KBL champions beat the B.League champions, Nagasaki Velca, 98-83 at Happiness Arena in Nagasaki in the East Asia Super League, after the game was tied 76-76 with about eight minutes to play.

It was KCC's first game of the 2026-27 EASL season and Nagasaki's first EASL game ever. The East Asia Super League is the club competition for teams from Japan, Korea, the Philippines, Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong, Macau and Mongolia, played alongside the domestic seasons.

King made 15 of 22 shots, 5 of 9 from three and all nine of his free throws. He added 12 rebounds, seven assists and two blocks in 38 minutes. A week ago he hit the late threes that beat Korea Gas 103-98 in the KBL.

Three quarters, one point apart

KCC won the first quarter 26-16. Nagasaki won the second by the same 10 points, 27-17, and the teams went in level at 43-43. KCC took the third quarter 28-27 and led 71-70 going into the fourth.

Fourth quarter: KCC 27, Nagasaki 13

Nagasaki tied it at 76 around the eight-minute mark. Baskets from Shawn Long and a three from Yun Ki-chan put KCC ahead by five. From there KCC finished the game on a 17-7 run, with King leading it.

The free-throw line was part of the gap. KCC made 20 of 23 free throws and Nagasaki 8 of 11. King's nine made free throws were one more than Nagasaki's whole team.

The imports and the rest

Long had 18 points and 17 rebounds, six of them on the offensive glass. Heo Hoon, the 2025-26 KBL Finals MVP, scored 14 with seven assists. Kim Dong-hyun made two of three threes and finished with eight. Heo Ung did not appear in the box score.

For Nagasaki, Yudai Baba and Levi Randolph scored 16 each. Masaaki Morikawa scored 15 in 14 minutes, making 4 of 5 threes. Jarrell Brantley made 3 of 17 shots for seven points, and Io Nagano had 10 assists. Nagasaki won the 2025-26 B.League title and led the league during that regular season with a 47-13 record. Its win over Gunma on October 10 handed the Crane Thunders their first B.League loss of this season.

Scoring: KCC 98-83 Nagasaki

KCC: Louis King 44, Shawn Long 18, Heo Hoon 14, Kim Dong-hyun 8, Yun Ki-chan 5, Kim Hun 5, Jang Jae-seok 4, Choi Jin-gwang 0.

Nagasaki: Yudai Baba 16, Levi Randolph 16, Masaaki Morikawa 15, Kenji Leon Matsumoto 8, Kenshin Hoshikawa 7, Jarrell Brantley 7, Kanji Takahira 5, Alistair Tokio Tsuchiya 4, Io Nagano 3, Ko Kumagai 2, Lucas Tanaka 0, Sena Platt 0.

By quarter: KCC 26, 17, 28, 27. Nagasaki 16, 27, 27, 13.

What is next

Both teams play Macau Hou Chon next in the EASL. Nagasaki visit Macau at Tap Seac Multi-Sports Pavilion on Wednesday, October 28. KCC host Macau at Busan Sajik Gymnasium on Thursday, November 5.

At home, KCC are 2-3 in the KBL and play at Anyang Jung Kwan Jang on Sunday, October 18. Nagasaki visit the Tokyo SunRockers in the B.League on Saturday, October 17.