Basketball Champions League Asia
| Organising body | FIBA Asia |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1981; 44 years ago (1981) |
| First season | 1981 |
| Region | Asia |
| Number of teams | 8 |
| Promotion to | FIBA Intercontinental Cup |
| Current champions | Lebanon Al Riyadi (3rd title) (2024) |
| Most championships | Lebanon Al Riyadi Lebanon Sagesse (3 titles each) |
| TV partners | YouTube (online streaming) |
| 2025 Basketball Champions League Asia-East | |
The Basketball Champions League Asia (BCL Asia), formerly the FIBA Asia Champions Cup,[1] is an annual continental club men's basketball competition organised by FIBA Asia. It is the highest level club competition for basketball in Asia.
Introduced in 1981, as the Asian Basketball Club Championship, the competition rebranded in 2004 to the FIBA Asia Champions Cup. In 2024, the tournament was renamed as the Basketball Champions League Asia.[2]
Al Riyadi and Sagesse from Lebanon are the most successful teams in the history of the competition with three championships each. Lebanese and Iranian clubs have won the most titles with a total of six among teams from each of these countries.
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]
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.
In 2025, the BCL Asia qualifying rounds renamed as BCL Asia-East.[5]
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.
| 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 | ||
| BCL Asia-East | East and Southeast Asia | Winners of the BCL Asia-East |
| Runners-up of the BCL Asia-East |
Summary
[edit ]Performance by club
[edit ]Titles by country
[edit ]| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lebanon | 6 | 3 | 4 | 13 |
| 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 | Syria | 1 | 3 | 2 | 6 |
| 7 | Japan | 1 | 3 | 1 | 5 |
| 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 | |
| Totals (19 entries) | 28 | 30 | 29 | 87 | |
See also
[edit ]- East Asia Super League
- West Asia Super League
- Women's Basketball League Asia
- ASEAN Basketball League
References
[edit ]- General
- Specific
- ^ "22ND FIBA ASIA CHAMPIONS CUP". fibaasia.net. Archived from the original on 13 May 2012.
- ^ a b "Mongolia, Indonesia to host BCL Asia Qualifying rounds". FIBA. 29 February 2024. Retrieved 1 March 2024.
- ^ Esportes.Opovobr Com Copa Intercontinental, Fiba ensaia Campeonato Mundial. Archived January 17, 2019, at the Wayback Machine (in Portuguese)
- ^ Estadao.com Pinheiros e Olympiacos começam a disputar o título da Intercontinental. (in Portuguese)
- ^ "FIBA Asia convenes third board meeting for 2023-27 in Jeddah". FIBA.basketball. 28 January 2025. Retrieved 31 January 2025.
- ^ "FIBA Asia Board Meeting Decisions" (PDF). Basketball Association of Singapore. FIBA Asia. 3 August 2020. Retrieved 3 March 2024.
- ^ "Bayi Rockets soar to first FIBA Asia Champions Cup". FIBA. 22 October 2022. Retrieved 3 March 2024.
