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Basketball Champions League Asia

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Basketball Champions League Asia
Organising bodyFIBA Asia
Founded1981; 43 years ago (1981)
First season1981
RegionAsia
Number of teams8
Promotion toFIBA Intercontinental Cup
Current championsJapan Alvark Tokyo (1st title)
(2019)
Most championshipsLebanon Sagesse
(3 titles)
2024 Basketball Champions League Asia

The Basketball Champions League Asia (BCL Asia), formerly the FIBA Asia Champions Cup,[1] is an annual continental men's basketball competition. It is the highest level club competition in Asia.

Introduced in 1981, as the Asian Basketball Club Championship, the competition rebranded in 2004 to the FIBA Asia Champions Cup. In 2024, it was announced that the tournament will be renamed as the Basketball Champions League Asia.[2]

Sagesse from Lebanon is the most successful team in the competition's history with three championships; Iranian teams have won the most titles with a total of six among teams from that country.

History[edit]

The competition was first organised 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]

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]

Sagesse is the most successful club in the history of the competition, having won three titles. However, clubs from Iran have the most combined titles, with a total of six.

Qualification[edit]

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

Allocated spots in the Basketball Champions League Asia
Method Country League
Direct Qualification China China Chinese Basketball Association
South Korea South Korea Korean Basketball League
Japan Japan B.League
Philippines Philippines Philippine Basketball Association
FIBA Zonal Leagues Central, West Asia and Gulf FIBA West Asia Super League champions
FIBA West Asia Super League runners-up
Qualifying tournaments East and Southeast Asia Winners of the qualifying round
Runers-up of the qualifying round

Summary[edit]

Year Hosts Champions Score Runners-up Third Place
1981 British Hong Kong Hong Kong China Bayi Rockets No playoffs Japan Nippon Kokan Philippines Apcor
1984 Malaysia Ipoh Philippines Northern Cement 82–56 China Bayi Rockets Chinese Taipei Kuang Hua
1988 Indonesia Jakarta Philippines Swift-PABL 84–69 China Liaoning Hunters South Korea Samsung Electronics
1990 Indonesia Jakarta China Liaoning Hunters No playoffs South Korea Bank of Korea Kuwait Kazma
1992 Thailand Bangkok South Korea Kia Motors No playoffs China Liaoning Hunters Kuwait Kazma
1995 Malaysia Kuala Lumpur Philippines Andok's 101–82 Malaysia Petronas South Korea Kia Motors
1996 Philippines Manila Philippines Hapee Toothpaste 77–74 Japan Isuzu Lynx China Guangdong Winnerway
1997 Indonesia Jakarta Hong Kong Regal 64–59 South Korea Kia Motors Indonesia Aspac
1998 Malaysia Kuala Lumpur China Beijing Hanwei 71–70 Hong Kong Regal Lebanon Al-Riyadi Beirut
1999 Lebanon Beirut Lebanon Sagesse 84–71 China Liaoning Hunters Malaysia Petronas
2000 Lebanon Beirut Lebanon Sagesse 55–52 Saudi Arabia Al-Ittihad Bahrain Al-Manama
2001 United Arab Emirates Dubai Saudi Arabia Al-Ittihad 103–101 (OT) Qatar Al-Rayyan Syria Al-Wahda
2002 Malaysia Kuala Lumpur Qatar Al-Rayyan 92–78 Saudi Arabia Al-Ittihad Syria Al-Wahda
2003 Malaysia Kuala Lumpur Syria Al-Wahda 96–63 Qatar Al-Rayyan South Korea Sangmu Phoenix
2004 United Arab Emirates Sharjah Lebanon Sagesse 72–70 Syria Al-Wahda Qatar Al-Rayyan
2005 Philippines Quezon City Qatar Al-Rayyan 83–76 Jordan Fastlink Lebanon Sagesse
2006 Kuwait Kuwait City Jordan Fastlink 94–69 Syria Al-Jalaa Aleppo Qatar Al-Rayyan
2007 Iran Tehran Iran Saba Battery Tehran 83–75 Syria Al-Jalaa Aleppo Qatar Al-Rayyan
2008 Kuwait Kuwait City Iran Saba Battery Tehran 82–75 Qatar Al-Rayyan United Arab Emirates Al-Wasl
2009 Indonesia Jakarta Iran Mahram Tehran 78–68 Jordan Zain Lebanon Al-Riyadi Beirut
2010 Qatar Doha Iran Mahram Tehran 93–73 Qatar Al-Rayyan Lebanon Al-Riyadi Beirut
2011 Philippines Pasig Lebanon Al-Riyadi Beirut 91–82 Iran Mahram Tehran Qatar Al-Rayyan
2012 Lebanon Beirut No title awarded Not held Lebanon Al-Riyadi Beirut
Iran Mahram Tehran
Iraq Duhok
2013 Jordan Amman Iran Foolad Mahan Isfahan 84–74 Qatar Al-Rayyan Jordan ASU
2016 China Chenzhou China China Kashgar 96–88 Lebanon Al-Riyadi Beirut Iran Petrochimi Bandar Imam
2017 China Chenzhou Lebanon Al-Riyadi Beirut 88–59 China China Kashgar Kazakhstan BC Astana
2018 Thailand Nonthaburi Iran Petrochimi Bandar Imam 68–64 Japan Alvark Tokyo South Korea Seoul SK Knights
2019 Thailand Nonthaburi Japan Alvark Tokyo 98–74 Lebanon Al-Riyadi Beirut Iran Palayesh Naft Abadan
2020 China Guangzhou[5] Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Asia[6]
2021 Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Asia[6]
2022 United Arab Emirates Dubai Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Asia
2024 United Arab Emirates Dubai Future event

Performance by club[edit]

Performances in the Basketball Champions League Asia by club
Club Titles Runners-up Years won Years runners-up
Lebanon Sagesse 3 0 1999, 2000, 2004
Qatar Al-Rayyan 2 5 2002, 2005 2001, 2003, 2008, 2010, 2013
Lebanon Al-Riyadi Beirut 2 3 2011, 2017 2012, 2016, 2019
Iran Mahram Tehran 2 2 2009, 2010 2011, 2012
Iran Saba Battery Tehran 2 0 2007, 2008
China Liaoning Hunters 1 3 1990 1988, 1992, 1999
Saudi Arabia Al-Ittihad 1 2 2001 2000, 2002
Jordan Zain 1 2 2006 2005, 2009
Syria Al-Wahda 1 1 2003 2004
South Korea Ulsan Hyundai Mobis Phoebus 1 1 1992 1997
China Bayi Rockets 1 1 1981 1984
Hong Kong Regal 1 1 1997 1998
China Xinjiang Flying Tigers 1 1 2016 2017
Japan Alvark Tokyo 1 1 2019 2018
Iran Petrochimi Bandar Imam 1 0 2018
Philippines Northern Cement 1 0 1984
Philippines Swift-PABL 1 0 1988
Philippines Andok's 1 0 1995
Philippines Hapee Toothpaste 1 0 1996
China Beijing Hanwei 1 0 1998
Iran Foolad Mahan Isfahan 1 0 2013
Syria Al-Jalaa Aleppo 0 2 2006, 2007
Malaysia Petronas 0 1 1995
Japan Nippon Kokan 0 1 1981
South Korea Bank of Korea 0 1 1990
Japan Isuzu Lynx 0 1 1996


Titles by country[edit]

RankNationGoldSilverBronzeTotal
1 Iran62210
2 Lebanon53412
3 China45110
4 Philippines4015
5 Qatar25411
6 Syria1326
7 Japan1304
8 South Korea1247
9 Jordan1214
10 Saudi Arabia1203
11 Hong Kong1102
12 Malaysia0112
13 Kuwait0022
14 Bahrain0011
 Chinese Taipei0011
 Indonesia0011
 Iraq0011
 Kazakhstan0011
 United Arab Emirates0011
Totals (19 entries)27292884

See also[edit]

References[edit]

General
Specific
  1. ^ "22ND FIBA ASIA CHAMPIONS CUP". fibaasia.net. Archived from the original on May 13, 2012.
  2. ^ a b "Mongolia, Indonesia to host BCL Asia Qualifying rounds". FIBA. February 29, 2024. Retrieved March 1, 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 Board Meeting Decisions" (PDF). Basketball Association of Singapore. FIBA Asia. August 3, 2020. Retrieved March 3, 2024.
  6. ^ a b "Bayi Rockets soar to first FIBA Asia Champions Cup". FIBA. October 22, 2022. Retrieved March 3, 2024.