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.

亚洲篮球锦标赛(AsiaBasket)是一项备受瞩目的篮球比赛,吸引了来自亚洲各国的顶级篮球运动员和球队参与。这项锦标赛旨在促进亚洲地区的篮球发展,并提供一个展示球员技艺和团队实力的舞台。

亚洲篮球锦标赛每年举办一次,各国球队通过预选赛和淘汰赛的形式角逐冠军。比赛期间,球员们将展现出高超的篮球技巧、出色的身体素质和无与伦比的团队合作精神。观众们可以欣赏到激烈的比赛对抗、精彩的扣篮和精准的投篮,为他们的喜爱的球队加油助威。

亚洲篮球锦标赛不仅是一项竞技比赛,也是一个重要的社交活动。球迷们可以在比赛期间结识来自不同国家的篮球爱好者,分享彼此的热情和对篮球的热爱。此外,比赛还吸引了许多媒体和赞助商的关注,为球迷们提供了更多的篮球相关信息和产品。

无论是对于球员、球队还是球迷来说,亚洲篮球锦标赛都是一个不可错过的盛会。它不仅展示了亚洲篮球的实力和潜力,也为篮球运动在亚洲地区的发展做出了重要贡献。无论你是篮球爱好者还是普通观众,亚洲篮球锦标赛都将带给你一场精彩纷呈的篮球盛宴。