NBL Asia's Seri Mutiara Cup 2017 presents 8 world class basketball teams

PETALING JAYA: This year's Seri Mutiara Cup 2017 will feature 8 teams from around the world battling each other for the title. The teams have been split into two groups – Group A is made of teams making their debut in the tournament while Group B consist of veterans back for another chance at winning the cup.
Below are the groupings and brief introduction of the teams participating in the 2017 Seri Mutiara Cup.
Top teams from Nigeria, China, Japan and South Korea make their debut in Group A of the tournament:

The Kano Pillars, Nigerian League Champions, are strong all the way through their line-up with national team players and players with international experience.
The club is perennially on top of the Nigerian league and the African Continental Cup.
Tochigi Brex of Japan is the group's other league champion (Japan B-league), also brings a wealth of experience and local Japanese heroes who will not be an easy team to defeat.
LG Sakers from South Korea are coming off an injury-riddled season and will be looking to get this year off to a fast start. They signed former LA Lakers and Olympiakos star, Josh Powell, to their line-up which will give them an advantage at the Seri Mutiara Cup.

The Beijing BRCB similarly had a let-down of a season in 2016-17 but in recently signing NBA and Chinese League legend, Stephon Marbury, they are coming to Malaysia to win!
The key match ups will be:
Day 1 = "Clash of Champions" with Tochigi Brex (Japan Champ) vs Kano Pillars (Nigerian Champ)
Day 2 = "Battle of East Asia" with Tochigi Brex vs LG Sakers (Josh Powell's team)
Day 3 = "Moment of Truth" with Tochigi Brex vs Beijing Fly Dragons (Stephon Marbury's team)
The veterans of Group B:
KK Split, from the basketball haven, Croatia, is a clear favourite to win this group. With solid fundamentals and coaching, the team is fancied to do well.
Defending champion, Guangzhou Securities will certainly not go down without a fight! They recently signed former North Carolina and NBA star, Tyler Hansborough, to their team to strengthen an already-strong line-up.
The Fubon Braves are also ready to show us why basketball is one of the most popular sports in Taipei. The Braves are fancied to be a top team in the Super Basketball League this year and they want to get off to a good start by playing well in the Seri Mutiara Cup.
The wildcard in this group will be the Malaysian team, NS Matrix. With four players from the NBL G-Leagues’ Texas Legends, they have bolstered their local players with strong imports.
In the last Seri Mutiara, NS Matrix were the first runner-up; can they repeat that performance or finally rise to the top this year?
The the key matchups in this group:
Day 1 = “Where Kings are Made” with KK Split vs Guangzhou Securities (Defending Champion of the Seri Mutiara Cup)
Day 2 = “Revenge is Sweet” with Guangzhou Securities (Tyler Hansborough’s team) vs NS Matrix (2016 Seri Mutiara Cup first runner-up)
Day 3 = “Asia Heat Meets the Iron Curtain” NS Matrix vs KK Split
KK Split or Guangzhou Securities are definitely the favourites in this group.B ut with the strong imports that NS Matrix has added and considering that the Fubon Braves is one of Taipei’s best teams, anything can happen at the court!
As with in Group A, the key will be defence ... who will shut down their opponents’ clutch scorers?
Come down to MABA Stadium September 12 –14 to find out!
To find out more about Seri Mutiara Cup 2017, visit NBL Asia's Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/nblasia/