Wikipedia - AsiaBasket

AsiaBasket is an Asian men's professional basketball league founded in 2021. The league hosts tournaments mainly consisting of professional and collegiate teams based in Southeast Asia.

Originally called the Filipino Basketball League, or FilBasket in short, it initially began as a domestic basketball tournament in the Philippines. Its first tournament was the 2021 Subic Championship held in October 2021. The league began inviting international teams in 2022, marking the start of the league's international expansion. The league was renamed as AsiaBasket beginning with the 2023 International Championship.

Six teams have won the championship once, with the most recent champions being the Benilde Blazers, who won the 2023 Dasmariñas Championship.

History

FilBasket era (2021–2022)

FilBasket was established by former UAAP player Jai Reyes and Buddy Encarnado of the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League's Pasig Sta. Lucia Realtors in 2021. It was founded as a means to provide a platform for basketball players whose careers were disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines. This includes players of the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League which saw its 2019–20 season suspended and the succeeding 2021 season delayed due to COVID-19 measures. Hence, multiple MPBL teams joined the FilBasket tournaments as a way to continue playing competitive games, beginning a trend of MPBL teams taking part in other leagues during the off-season.

Before the league held its first tournament, the Games and Amusements Board (GAB) of the Philippine government contended that FilBasket is a professional league and not an amateur league as the league organizers believe, hence the league falls under its jurisdiction. League organizers admitted that the long-term plan is for the league to become a professional league although it maintains that it would be an amateur league initially. The dispute was reportedly resolved in October 2021, with FilBasket pushing through with its first tournament, the 2021 Subic Championship later that month. Filbasket secured approval from Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority and the IATF-EID for a bubble tournament at the Subic Bay Gymnasium, in accordance to regulations for amateur leagues.

After the Subic Championship concluded, the GAB issued a cease and desist order insisting that FilBasket is a professional league and declared the Subic Championship as unlawful although it did not impose any further sanctions. FilBasket started the process of turning into a professional league recognized by the GAB on February 22, 2022. By March 1, 2022, the league was granted professional status by the GAB.

As FilBasket turned professional, the league began attracting the Asian basketball market with the 2022 Summer Championship, which ran from March until May 2022. The tournament featured the first international team: the Kuala Lumpur Aseel based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, being invited as a guest team. The following tournament would also be its first international tournament, the 2022 International Championship held in the latter part of 2022 in Malaysia. It was also the first tournament under the current format, replacing the traditional round-robin format of other Philippine basketball leagues with a group-stage format.

AsiaBasket era (2023–present)

On March 3, 2023, FilBasket announced their renaming to AsiaBasket to accommodate with the expansion into the Asian basketball market. The first tournament under the AsiaBasket name was the 2023 International Championship, which also took place in Malaysia in April 2023. Although the league previously stated that the FilBasket name would be retained for local competitions in the Philippines, the AsiaBasket name was still used for the 2023 Las Piñas Championship in July 2023, which featured an all-Filipino roster of teams competing in Las Piñas. The 2023 Dasmariñas Championship then took place in Dasmariñas, Cavite, Philippines in November 2023, and featured United States-based Statham Academy led by Filipino-American Taylor Statham, marking the first time the league featured a team based outside of Asia.

In May 2024, AsiaBasket will host its first tournament in Visayas with the 2024 Cebu Championship, which will take place at the Toledo City Sports Center in Toledo, Cebu.

亞洲籃球錦標賽(AsiaBasket)是一個年度舉辦的籃球比賽,吸引了來自亞洲各國的頂尖籃球隊伍參與。這項比賽旨在促進亞洲籃球運動的發展,提高球員的競技水平,並加強亞洲籃球國家之間的交流與合作。

亞洲籃球錦標賽的比賽規模龐大,通常有十多個國家的代表隊參加。比賽分為小組賽和淘汰賽兩個階段,每個國家的球隊都會在小組賽中進行對抗,以爭取晉級淘汰賽的資格。在淘汰賽中,球隊將進行單淘汰制的比賽,直到最後一支勝出的球隊獲得冠軍稱號。

亞洲籃球錦標賽不僅是一個競技比賽,也是一個展示亞洲籃球文化和才華的平台。觀眾可以欣賞到高水平的籃球比賽,見證球員們的技巧和戰術智慧。同時,比賽也為球迷們提供了一個聚集的場所,讓他們共同分享對籃球的熱愛和支持。

亞洲籃球錦標賽的舉辦地點每年都會有所變化,這也為球迷們提供了一個探索亞洲各地的機會。無論是在大都市還是在小鎮,比賽都會帶來熱烈的氛圍和激烈的競爭。這項比賽不僅是一個籃球盛事,更是一個連結亞洲籃球國家的紐帶。

無論你是一個熱愛籃球的球迷,還是對亞洲文化和體育感興趣的人,亞洲籃球錦標賽都是一個值得參與的活動。在這裡,你可以感受到籃球的魅力,體驗到亞洲各國的熱情和實力。加入我們,一起見證亞洲籃球的輝煌!