The returning Bassett, who had played in the ABL for Eastern in 2019, knocked down an early three to set the tone for the Hong Kong team. With four of the five starters putting their names on the scoresheet early on, Eastern built a healthy 12-3 lead to force a timeout from the Tigers.

Their lead stretched to 19 by the end of the opening quarter, thanks largely to McLaughlin, with a game-high 11 points, and Bassett, who chipped in nine.

Their dominance was checked a little and there were some uncharacteristic turnovers by Eastern, but the Bangkok side failed to capitalise on those, and before they knew it Eastern had brought their advantage back up to 24 points to lead 49-25 at half-time.

Bassett knocked down back-to-back threes to start the third quarter and the 36-year-old guard added another from behind the arc moments later, capping a 16-4 run that enabled Eastern to build their lead to a game-high 36 points.

An 11-2 run by the Tigers brought the quarter to an end but Eastern’s daunting lead remained intact at 69-41 heading into the final quarter.

That allowed Eastern head coach Zeljko Pavlicevic the luxury of calling on young local players including Simba Pok and Marco Leung Ka-hin in the closing stages.

Four new Eastern players scored double figures on the night, with Bassett leading the game with 22 points, making eight shots out of 14. McLaughlin recorded a double-double, with 21 points to go with 14 rebounds.

Trocha-Morelos and Gilbert finished with 14 and 10 apiece, while Oliver Xu, another off-season recruit, chipped in eight in a perfect shooting performance both on the court and from the line.

Eastern will next play the Macau Black Bears on Thursday, then hosts and three-time runners-up Singapore Slingers on Saturday, before wrapping up their four-game stop in the Lion City on Sunday against new ABL team Louvre Surabaya, from Indonesia.