Japan have kept a firm grip on the proceedings after the first round of the double round-robin phase in the ongoing ICC Men’s T20 World Cup EAP “B” qualifiers in Philippines, remaining unbeaten in their three matches played so far.
Host’s Philippines are in the 2nd place in the points table at the moment, after securing close wins against both Indonesia and South Korea in the 4-nation tournament. The top team at the end of the double round-robin phase will advance to the East Asia-Pacific regional finals, to be held in Papua New Guinea in 2019.
South Korea will be disappointed with the results so far, having only one win in their three matches so far with Indonesia lagging at the end of the points table without any points to their name. With one more round of round-robin stage to go, Japan, Philippines and South Korea are still in the running for the top spot; however, Japan and Philippines are more nicely placed in the points table at the moment to compete for the top spot.
Points Table:
| Country | Matches | Wins | Loss | Tie/NR | Points | Net Run-Rate |
| Japan | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0.67 |
| Philippines | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0.067 |
| South Korea | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | -0.365 |
| Indonesia | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | -0.367 |
