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.

**AsiaBasket, le tournoi de basket-ball phare de l'Asie**

AsiaBasket est le championnat continental de basket-ball pour les équipes nationales asiatiques. Organisé par la Fédération asiatique de basket-ball (FIBA Asie), le tournoi se déroule tous les deux ans depuis 1960.

**Format du tournoi**

* Le tournoi rassemble 16 équipes classées en quatre groupes.
* Les deux meilleures équipes de chaque groupe se qualifient pour les quarts de finale.
* Les quarts de finale, les demi-finales et la finale se jouent sous forme de matchs à élimination directe.

**Équipes participantes**

Les équipes suivantes ont participé à AsiaBasket 2022 :

* Australie
* Chine
* Taipei chinois
* Indonésie
* Iran
* Japon
* Jordanie
* Kazakhstan
* Liban
* Nouvelle-Zélande
* Philippines
* Qatar
* Arabie saoudite
* Corée du Sud
* Syrie

**Palmarès**

La Chine est l'équipe la plus titrée d'AsiaBasket, avec 16 titres. D'autres équipes ayant connu le succès incluent les Philippines (5 titres) et l'Iran (3 titres).

**Importance**

AsiaBasket est un tournoi de grande importance pour les équipes nationales asiatiques. Il sert de qualification pour les Jeux olympiques et la Coupe du monde de basket-ball. Le tournoi offre également une occasion unique aux joueurs asiatiques de se mesurer aux meilleurs de leur continent.

**Édition 2023**

La prochaine édition d'AsiaBasket aura lieu en 2023 au Liban. Les 16 équipes participantes seront annoncées à une date ultérieure.