Basketball Champions League Asia

Basketball Champions League Asia

Organising body	FIBA Asia
Founded	1981;44 years ago (1981) as Asia Champions Cup 2024;1 year ago (2024) as Champions League Asia
First season	1981
Region	Asia
Number of teams	9
Promotion to	FIBA Intercontinental Cup
Current champions	Utsunomiya Brex (1st title) (2025)
Most championships	Al Riyadi Sagesse (3 titles each)
2025 Basketball Champions League Asia

The Basketball Champions League Asia (BCL Asia) is an annual continental club men's basketball competition organised by FIBA Asia. It is the highest level club competition for basketball in Asia and it replaced the FIBA Asia Champions Cup, ^[1]

In 1981 the FIBA Asia Club Championship was introduced and, the competition was rebranded in 2004 as the FIBA Asia Champions Cup. It lasted until 2019.

In 2024, a new tournament was launched, the Basketball Champions League Asia as the continent's top tier club competition. ^[2]

History

Earlier iterations (1981–2019)

The Asia Champions Cup was organized by the Asian Basketball Confederation in 1981, when the inaugural tournament was hosted in Hong Kong. The first-ever champions were the Bayi Rockets from China. In 1995, the name of the competition was changed to the ABC Champions Cup. After the ABC became integrated in FIBA in 2004, the competition was rebranded as the FIBA Asia Champions Cup.

In the 1990s, FIBA announced plans to expand the Intercontinental Cup with the teams from the BCL Asia, Basketball Africa League (BAL), NBL, and the NBA, at some point in the future. ^{[3] [4]}

Al Riyadi Club Beirut and Sagesse from Lebanon are the most successful clubs in the history of the competition, having won three titles each. Clubs from Lebanon and Iran have the most combined titles, with a total of six each.

BCL Asia era (2024–present)

In 2024, it was announced that the tournament will be renamed as the Basketball Champions League Asia, a name in line with other continental competitions in the Americas and Europe. ^[2] The 2024 edition was the 29th top-tier club competition in Asia following a 5-year hiatus.

In 2025, the BCL Asia qualifying rounds renamed as BCL Asia – East. ^[5]

The winner of the competition gets a spot in the annual FIBA Intercontinental Cup tournament.

Qualification

As of the 2024 season, teams can qualify for the BCL Asia directly through their national leagues, the FIBA West Asia Super League or the qualifying rounds.

Allocated spots in the Basketball Champions League Asia

Method	Scope	League
Direct qualification	China	Chinese Basketball Association
	South Korea	Korean Basketball League
	Japan	B.League
	Philippines	Philippine Basketball Association
FIBA zonal leagues	Central, South, West Asia and Gulf	FIBA West Asia Super League champion
		FIBA West Asia Super League runner-up
BCL Asia – East	East and Southeast Asia	BCL Asia – East champion
		BCL Asia – East runner-up

Format

The nine teams play in three round-of-robin groups of three, with each playing two games. The top eight teams from overall group phase advance to the final phase, where they play single-elimination games for final classification. ^[6]

Summary

It includes all top-tier competitions since 1981.

Results

Asia Champions Cup (1981–2019)

Ed.	Year	Host		Final				Third place game
				Champion	Score	Runner-up		Third	Score	Fourth
1	1981	Hongkong		Bayi Rockets	No playoffs	Nippon Kokan		Apcor	No playoffs	Industry Bank
2	1984	Ipoh		Northern Cement	82–56	Bayi Rockets		Kuang Hua	82–68	PKN Selangor
3	1988	Jakarta		Swift-PABL	84–69	Liaoning Hunters		Samsung Electronics	88–66	Pandan Jaya
4	1990	Jakarta		Liaoning Hunters	No playoffs	Bank of Korea		Kazma	No playoffs	Shahrdari Isfahan
5	1992	Bangkok		Kia Motors	No playoffs	Liaoning Hunters		Kazma	No playoffs	Thai Ruamsin
6	1995	Kuala Lumpur		Andok's	101–82	Petronas		Kia Motors	No data	Al-Ahli
7	1996	Manila		Hapee Toothpaste	77–74	Isuzu Lynx		Guangdong Winnerway	80–64	Petronas
8	1997	Jakarta		Regal	64–59	Kia Motors		Aspac	78–52	Isuzu Giga Cats
9	1998	Kuala Lumpur		Beijing Hanwei	71–70	Regal		Al-Riyadi	87–77	Hyundai Dynat
10	1999	Beirut		Sagesse	84–71	Liaoning Hunters		Petronas	58–55	Al-Ittihad
11	2000	Beirut		Sagesse	55–52	Al-Ittihad		Al-Manama	92–69	Al-Qadsia
12	2001	Dubai		Al-Ittihad	103–101 (OT)	Al-Rayyan		Al-Wahda	93–79	Winling
13	2002	Kuala Lumpur		Al-Rayyan	92–78	Al-Ittihad		Al-Wahda	104–63	Sangmu
14	2003	Kuala Lumpur		Al-Wahda	96–63	Al-Rayyan		Sangmu Phoenix	91–82	Al-Ittihad
15	2004	Sharjah		Sagesse	72–70	Al-Wahda		Al-Rayyan	82–80	Sangmu Phoenix
16	2005	Quezon City		Al-Rayyan	83–76	Fastlink		Sagesse	74–71	Saba Battery Tehran
17	2006	Kuwait City		Fastlink	94–69	Al-Jalaa Aleppo		Al-Rayyan	102–64	Al-Ittihad
18	2007	Tehran		Saba Battery Tehran	83–75	Al-Jalaa Aleppo		Al-Rayyan	95–75	San Miguel-Magnolia
19	2008	Kuwait City		Saba Battery Tehran	82–75	Zain		Al-Wasl	95–75	Al-Riyadi Beirut
20	2009	Jakarta		Mahram Tehran	78–68	Al-Rayyan		Al-Riyadi	94–81	Al-Arabi
21	2010	Doha		Mahram Tehran	93–73	Al-Rayyan		Al-Riyadi	82–78 (OT)	ASU
22	2011	Pasig		Al Riyadi	91–82	Mahram Tehran		Al-Rayyan	71–64	Smart Gilas
23	2012	Beirut		No title awarded [a]		Al-Riyadi Mahram Tehran		Duhok	73–58	Belent Ashgabat
24	2013	Amman		Foolad Mahan Isfahan	84–74	Al-Rayyan		ASU	107–76	Al-Hala
25	2016	Chenzhou		China Kashgar	96–88	Al-Riyadi		Petrochimi	100–74	Al-Ahli
26	2017	Chenzhou		Al Riyadi	88–59	China Kashgar		BC Astana	81–78	Petrochimi
27	2018	Nonthaburi		Petrochimi Bandar Imam	68–64	Alvark Tokyo		Seoul SK Knights	91–87	Meralco Bolts
28	2019	Nonthaburi		Alvark Tokyo	98–74	Al-Riyadi		Palayesh Naft Abadan	81–69	Al-Muharraq
—	2020	Guangzhou [7]		Cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic in Asia. [8]
—	2022	Dubai

Champions League

Ed.	Year	Host		Final				Third place game
				Champion	Score	Runner-up		Third	Score	Fourth
1	2024	Dubai		Al Riyadi	122–96	Shabab Al Ahli		Hiroshima Dragonflies	81–76	Shahrdari Gorgan
2	2025	Dubai		Utsunomiya Brex	94–93	Al Riyadi		Ulaanbaatar Xac Broncos	84–79	Shabab Al Ahli

Notes

1. The championship game were called off due to security issues in Beirut. Therefore, the finalist Al-Riyadi and Mahram Tehran were declared as co-runners-up.

Records and statistics

Main article: Basketball Champions League Asia records and statistics

It includes all top-tier competitions since 1981.

Performances in the Basketball Champions League Asia by club

Club	Titles	Runners-up	Years won	Years runners-up
Al Riyadi	3	4	2011, 2017, 2024	2012, 2016, 2019, 2025
Sagesse	3	0	1999, 2000, 2004	—
Al-Rayyan	2	5	2002, 2005	2001, 2003, 2008, 2010, 2013
Mahram Tehran	2	2	2009, 2010	2011, 2012
Saba Battery Tehran	2	0	2007, 2008
Liaoning Hunters	1	3	1990	1988, 1992, 1999
Al-Ittihad	1	2	2001	2000, 2002
Zain	1	2	2006	2005, 2009
Al-Wahda	1	1	2003	2004
Kia Motors	1	1	1992	1997
Bayi Rockets	1	1	1981	1984
Regal	1	1	1997	1998
Xinjiang Flying Tigers / China Kashgar	1	1	2016	2017
Alvark Tokyo	1	1	2019	2018
Petrochimi Bandar Imam	1	0	2018	—
Northern Cement	1	0	1984	—
Swift	1	0	1988	—
Andok's	1	0	1995	—
Hapee Toothpaste	1	0	1996	—
Beijing Hanwei	1	0	1998	—
Foolad Mahan Isfahan	1	0	2013	—
Utsunomiya Brex	1	0	2025	—
Al-Jalaa Aleppo	0	2	—	2006, 2007
Petronas	0	1	—	1995
Nippon Kokan	0	1	—	1981
Bank of Korea	0	1	—	1990
Isuzu Lynx	0	1	—	1996
Shabab Al Ahli	0	1	—	2024

Asia's top tier competitions

FIBA Asia took control in 2004.

• 1981-1994, Asian Basketball Club Championship (or ABC Championship) (renamed)
• 1995-2003, Asian Basketball Club Cup (or ABC Cup) (renamed)
• 2004-2022, FIBA Asia Champions Cup (renamed)
• 2024-present, Basketball Champions League Asia

Titles by nation

Main article: Basketball Champions League Asia records and statistics

It includes all top-tier competitions since 1981.

Rank	Nation	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	Lebanon	6	4	4	14
2	Iran	6	2	2	10
3	China	4	5	1	10
4	Philippines	4	0	1	5
5	Qatar	2	5	4	11
6	Japan	2	3	1	6
7	Syria	1	3	2	6
8	South Korea	1	2	4	7
9	Jordan	1	2	1	4
10	Saudi Arabia	1	2	0	3
11	Hong Kong	1	1	0	2
12	Malaysia	0	1	1	2
	United Arab Emirates	0	1	1	2
14	Kuwait	0	0	2	2
15	Bahrain	0	0	1	1
	Chinese Taipei	0	0	1	1
	Indonesia	0	0	1	1
	Iraq	0	0	1	1
	Kazakhstan	0	0	1	1
	Mongolia	0	0	1	1
Totals (20 entries)		29	31	30	90

Awards

MVP

Asian Basketball Club Cup (1995-2003)

• 1995: Bobby Parks
• 1996: Tony Harris
• 1997: Wayman Strickland
• 1998: Michael Cumberland
• 1999: Assane N'Diaye
• 2000: Elie Mechantaf
• 2001: Johnny Rhodes
• 2002: Kris Johnson
• 2003: Andre Pitts

FIBA Asia Champions Cup (2004-2019)

• 2004:
• 2005: Fadi El Khatib
• 2006:
• 2007: Samad Nikkhah Bahrami
• 2008: Gabe Muoneke
• 2009: Jackson Vroman
• 2010:
• 2011: Fadi El Khatib (2)
• 2012: not awarded
• 2013:
• 2016: Dewarick Spencer
• 2017: Darius Adams
• 2018: Daiki Tanaka
• 2019: Alex Kirk

Champions League (2024-present)

• 2024: Wael Arakji
• 2025: D.J. Newbill

See also

• East Asia Super League
• FIBA West Asia Super League
• Women's Basketball League Asia
• ASEAN Basketball League

References

General

• Official website of FIBA Asia

Specific

1. "22ND FIBA ASIA CHAMPIONS CUP". fibaasia.net. Archived from the original on 13 May 2012.
2. "Mongolia, Indonesia to host BCL Asia Qualifying rounds". FIBA. 29 February 2024. Retrieved 1 March 2024.
3. Esportes.Opovobr Com Copa Intercontinental, Fiba ensaia Campeonato Mundial. Archived January 17, 2019, at the Wayback Machine (in Portuguese)
4. Estadao.com Pinheiros e Olympiacos começam a disputar o título da Intercontinental. (in Portuguese)
5. "FIBA Asia convenes third board meeting for 2023-27 in Jeddah". FIBA.basketball. 28 January 2025. Retrieved 31 January 2025.
7. "FIBA Asia Board Meeting Decisions" (PDF). Basketball Association of Singapore. FIBA Asia. 3 August 2020. Retrieved 3 March 2024.
8. "Bayi Rockets soar to first FIBA Asia Champions Cup". FIBA. 22 October 2022. Retrieved 3 March 2024.

External links

• FIBA Asia club competitions