AsiaBasket

Last updated

AsiaBasket (FilBasket)
Most recent season or competition:
2023 AsiaBasket Dasmariñas Championship
AsiaBasket Logo.png
Sport Basketball
Founded2021;3 years ago (2021)
Founder Jai Reyes
First season 2021 Subic Championship
No. of teams10
Country Philippines
Indonesia
Malaysia
Brunei
Thailand
United States
(all-time)
Continent FIBA Asia
Most recent
champion(s)		 Benilde Blazers
(Dasmariñas 2023)
Most titlessix teams
(1 title each)
TV partner(s)AsiaBasket (Facebook, YouTube)
Solar Sports
Official website asiabasket.org

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.

Contents

Originally called the Filipino Basketball League, more commonly referred to as FilBasket, 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 (MPBL) Pasig Sta. Lucia Realtors in 2021. [1] [2] 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 (MPBL) 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. [2]

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. [3] 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. [4] The dispute was reportedly resolved in October 2021, with FilBasket pushing through with its first tournament, the 2021 Subic Championship later that month. [3] 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. [5]

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. [6] [7] FilBasket started the process of turning into a professional league recognized by the GAB on February 22, 2022. [8] By March 1, 2022, the league was granted professional status by the GAB. [9]

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. [10] The following tournament would also be its first international tournament, the 2022 International Championship held in the latter part of 2022 in Malaysia. [11] 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 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. [12] 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.

Teams

NameLocalityCountryFirst tournament
Benilde Blazers Malate, Manila Flag of the Philippines.svg  Philippines International 2023
Corsa Tires— Las Piñas 2023
Dasmariñas Monarchs Dasmariñas, Cavite Dasmariñas 2023
Makati Circus Music Festival Makati Dasmariñas 2023
MisOr Mustangs Misamis Oriental Dasmariñas 2023
PCU Dolphins – Dasmariñas Dasmariñas, Cavite Dasmariñas 2023
Pilipinas Aguilas— International 2022
Shawarma Shack Pilipinas— International 2022
Phuket Waves Phuket Flag of Thailand.svg  Thailand Dasmariñas 2023
Statham Academy California Flag of the United States.svg  United States Dasmariñas 2023

Previous teams

NameLocalityCountryFirst tournamentLast tournament
Pegasus Brunei Bandar Seri Begawan Flag of Brunei.svg  Brunei International 2022
Bumi Borneo Pontianak, West Kalimantan Flag of Indonesia.svg  Indonesia International 2022
Elang Pacific Caesar Surabaya International 2022
KL Aseel Kuala Lumpur Flag of Malaysia.svg  Malaysia Summer 2022 International 2023
Harimau Malaysia Kuala Lumpur International 2022 International 2023
MBC Kirin Malacca City International 2022 International 2023
Ateneo Blue Eagles Loyola Heights, Quezon City Flag of the Philippines.svg  Philippines Las Piñas 2023
BGC Builders Taguig International 2022 International 2023
FEU Tamaraws Sampaloc, Manila Las Piñas 2023
Letran Knights Intramuros, Manila Las Piñas 2023
MFT Fruit Masters— International 2023
Perpetual Altas Las Piñas Las Piñas 2023
San Beda Red Lions Mendiola, Manila International 2023 Las Piñas 2023
Sanzar Pharmaceuticals— International 2023 Las Piñas 2023
The Th3rd Floor – KalosPH— International 2023
Uratex Muntinlupa Las Piñas 2023
Singapore Adroit Woodlands Flag of Singapore.svg  Singapore International 2022

FilBasket teams

NameLocalityFirst tournamentLast tournament
7A Primus— Subic 2021
AFP-FSD Makati Cavaliers /
FSD Makati ARMY		 Makati Subic 2021 Summer 2022
All-Star Bacolod Ballers Bacolod Summer 2022
AICC Manila Manila Subic 2021
AMA Online Education Titans Quezon City Summer 2022
Burlington EOG Sports /
Muntinlupa Angelis Resort – EOG Sports		 Manila Subic 2021 Summer 2022
Muntinlupa
Danao City MJAS Zenith /
Medical Depot		 Danao, Cebu Subic 2021 Summer 2022
Davao Occidental Tigers Davao Occidental Subic 2021
Immaculada Concepcion College Blue Hawks Caloocan Summer 2022
Muntinlupa Defenders Muntinlupa Subic 2021
Nueva Ecija Bespren Nueva Ecija Subic 2021
Nueva Ecija Capitals Nueva Ecija Summer 2022
Pasig Sta. Lucia Realtors Pasig Subic 2021 Summer 2022
San Juan Knights San Juan Subic 2021 Summer 2022
Batangas City Athletics / Tanduay Rum Masters Batangas City Subic 2021 Summer 2022
Zamboanga Family's Brand Sardines Zamboanga City Summer 2022

Arenas

TournamentArena(s)Location
FilBasket
Subic 2021 Subic Bay Gymnasium Subic, Zambales
Summer 2022 San Jose Del Monte City Sports Complex
Muntinlupa Sports Center
SGS Stadium		 San Jose del Monte, Bulacan
Muntinlupa
Quezon City
International 2022 MABA Stadium Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
AsiaBasket
International 2023 MABA Stadium Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Las Piñas 2023 Villar Coliseum Las Piñas
Dasmariñas 2023 Dasmariñas Arena Dasmariñas, Cavite
Cebu 2024 Toledo City Sports Center Toledo City, Cebu

Champions

Numbers in parentheses indicate the number of times that team has appeared in each tournament's championship game, as well as each respective teams' record in those games.

TournamentWinning teamScoreLosing teamRef.
FilBasket
Subic 2021 AICC Manila
(1, 1–0)		2–1
(series)		 San Juan Knights
(1, 0–1)
Summer 2022 Nueva Ecija Capitals
(1, 1–0)		2–1
(series)		 San Juan Knights
(2, 0–2)
International 2022 Harimau Malaysia
(1, 1–0)		87–68KL Aseel
(1, 0–1)
AsiaBasket
International 2023 KL Aseel
(2, 1–1)		83–72 San Beda Red Lions
(1, 0–1)
Las Piñas 2023 Ateneo Blue Eagles
(1, 1–0)		60–57 Benilde Blazers
(1, 0–1)
Dasmariñas 2023 Benilde Blazers
(2, 1–1)		105–86Statham Academy
(1, 0–1)
Cebu 2024 To be determined

See also

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References

  1. ↑ Joble, Rey (October 29, 2021). "Why FilBasket insists it is an amateur league". Manila Times. Retrieved January 11, 2022.
  2. 1 2 Joble, Rey (August 11, 2021). "Sta. Lucia joins FilBasket League". The Manila Times. Retrieved January 11, 2022.
  3. 1 2 Mendoza, Martin (October 25, 2021). "Filbasket clears up GAB issue, to push through with inaugural tournament". Rappler. Retrieved January 11, 2022.
  4. ↑ Rosale, Dale (October 27, 2021). "FilBasket kicks off Thursday". Cebu Daily News. Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved January 11, 2022.
  5. ↑ Reyes, Kate (July 22, 2021). "Jai Reyes to formally open FilBasket this August". Sports Interactive Network Philippines. Retrieved January 11, 2022.
  6. ↑ Navarro, June (November 23, 2021). "GAB issues cease and desist order vs Filbasket". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved January 11, 2022.
  7. ↑ Ramos, Gerry (January 14, 2022). "GAB fires warning after Filbasket's maiden tournament ruled 'unlawful'". Sports Interactive Network Philippines. Retrieved January 15, 2022.
  8. ↑ Li, Matthew (February 22, 2022). "Filbasket, Super League begin process of turning pro". Tiebreaker Times. Retrieved February 22, 2022.
  9. ↑ "Pro status, new teams boost Filbasket ahead of second season". ABS-CBN News. March 1, 2022. Retrieved March 1, 2022.
  10. ↑ Li, Matthew (May 8, 2022). "Filbasket: Palma lifts Nueva Ecija to Summer Championship". Tiebreaker Times. Retrieved October 23, 2022.
  11. ↑ Terrado, Reuben (October 23, 2022). "Three Pinoy teams to play in FilBasket Int'l Championship in KL". Sports Interactive Network Philippines. Retrieved October 23, 2022.
  12. ↑ Morales, Luisa (March 10, 2023). "Filbasket expands, rebrands into AsiaBasket". The Philippine Star. Retrieved March 11, 2023.
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