2023 FIBA Intercontinental Cup (Singapore)
The 2023 FIBA Intercontinental Cup was the 33rd edition of the FIBA Intercontinental Cup. The tournament was hosted in the Singapore Indoor Stadium in Singapore. It was the first time Singapore hosted the tournament, as well as the first time the tournament is being held in Asia.[1]
 | |
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Host country |  Singapore |
| City | Singapore |
| Dates | 21–24 September |
| Teams | 6 |
| Venue(s) | 1 |
| Final positions | |
| Champions |  Sesi Franca (1st title) |
| Runners-up |  Telekom Baskets Bonn |
| Third place |  Zhejiang Golden Bulls |
| Fourth place |  Al Ahly |
| Tournament statistics | |
| MVP | David Jackson (Franca) |
| Top scorer | Lucas Dias (Franca; 18.0 points per game) |
| Official website | |
| Link | |
It was the second Intercontinental Cup in the same calendar year, as the tournament cycle was changed to September to better adapt to the club's schedules. It was also the first tournament under an expanded format with six teams, with two teams from Asia being added.
Franca won its first title after beating Telekom Baskets Bonn in the final. Franca's Lucas Dias scored a fadeaway jumper in the post to beat the buzzer which gave them the win; David Jackson was named MVP.[2]
Teams
Contrary to the previous seasons, the NBA G League Ignite were pre-selected as representatives for the NBA G League and were the first known team to participate.
One representative from Asia (a pre-selected Chinese Basketball Association club) and one yet to be disclosed team were added as the competition expanded from four to six teams.
On 19 June 2023, FIBA announced the Zhejiang Golden Bulls to be the CBA representative, and also announced they invited Manama Club as the sixth team, following Manama's win of the 2022–23 West Asia Super League.
| Team | Qualification | Qualified date | Participations
(bold indicates winners) |
Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 NBA G League Ignite |
Pre-selected as representative of the NBA G League[lower-alpha 1] | 3 March 2023 | 0 | [1] |
| Zhejiang Golden Bulls |
Pre-selected as representative of the CBA[lower-alpha 2] | 19 June 2023 | 0 | [3] |
| Al Ahly |
Winners of the 2023 BAL season | 27 May 2023 | 0 | [4] |
| Sesi Franca |
Winners of the 2022–23 BCL Americas | 15 April 2023 | 5 (1975, 1976, 1977, 1980, 1981) | [5] |
| Telekom Baskets Bonn |
Winners of the 2022–23 Basketball Champions League | 14 May 2023 | 0 | [6] |
 Al Manama |
Winners of the 2022–23 West Asia Super League | 19 June 2023[lower-alpha 3] | 0 | [3] |
Squads
Venue
The 2023 season is the first of three tournaments to be held in Singapore in the Singapore Indoor Stadium, under an agreement between FIBA and Sport Singapore, an organisation controlled by the country's government. Opened in 1989, the indoor arena can host 12,000 people for sporting events and is located in the Singapore Sports Hub.
Draw
The draw was held on 20 June 2023 at the ArtScience Museum in Singapore, and was attended by Vlade Divac, Yi Jianlian and Ian Mahinmi.[3]
Group phase
- All times in Singapore Standard Time local time (GMT+8).
Group A
Al Ahly defeated the NBA G League Ignite 82–76 to become the first African team to win a game in Intercontinental Cup history.[7] The following day, Al Ahly was easily defeated by Brazilian side Franca, 90–70. Franca's 41-year old David Jackson led the team with 22 points, Lucas Dias and Márcio Santos both added 21 points.[8] On the last day, Sesi Franca beat the NBA G League Ignite 98–89 to clinch the first place in Group A and to qualify for the final.[9]
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sesi Franca |
2 | 2 | 0 | 188 | 159 | +29 | 4 | Advance to final |
| 2 | Al Ahly |
2 | 1 | 1 | 152 | 166 | −14 | 3 | Qualification to third place game |
| 3 | NBA G League Ignite |
2 | 0 | 2 | 165 | 180 | −15 | 2 | Qualification to fifth place game |
21 September 2023 19:00 |
| NBA G League Ignite |
76–82 | Al Ahly |
| Scoring by quarter: 21–20, 22–25, 16–17, 17–20 | ||
| Pts: Smith 18 Rebs: Almansa 8 Asts: Johnson 6 |
Pts: Amin 15 Rebs: Kejo 13 Asts: Cole 9 | |
Singapore Indoor Stadium, Singapore Referees: Yohan Rosso (FRA), Scott Beker (AUS), Viola Györgyi (ROU) |
22 September 2023 15:00 |
| Sesi Franca |
90–70 | Al Ahly |
| Scoring by quarter: 26–17, 16–15, 26–15, 22–23 | ||
| Pts: Dias, Jackson 22 Rebs: Márcio 9 Asts: Georginho 9 |
Pts: Cole 17 Rebs: Amin 9 Asts: Amin 5 | |
Singapore Indoor Stadium, Singapore Referees: Omar Bermúdez (MEX), Amy Bonner (USA), Péter Praksch (HUN) |
23 September 2023 15:00 |
| NBA G League Ignite |
89–98 | Sesi Franca |
| Scoring by quarter: 23–25, 27–29, 23–22, 16–22 | ||
| Pts: Jenkins 15 Rebs: Almansa 12 Asts: Jenkins 6 |
Pts: Georginho, Luz 19 Rebs: Ferreira 9 Asts: Borges, Jackson 5 | |
Singapore Indoor Stadium, Singapore Referees: Antonio Conde (ESP), Yevgeniy Mikheyev (KAZ), Péter Praksch (HUN) |
Group B
The first game of the tournament was between Telekom Baskets Bonn and Al Manama, in which Bonn comfortably defeated Manama 105–50 behind 28 points from Sam Griesel.[7] On the second day, the Zhejiang Golden Bulls made their debut with a convincing 95–78 victory over Manama, relegating them to the fifth place game.[8] Bonn blew out the Golden Bulls on the third gameday to qualify for the final.[9]
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Telekom Baskets Bonn |
2 | 2 | 0 | 216 | 100 | +116 | 4 | Advance to final |
| 2 | Zhejiang Golden Bulls |
2 | 1 | 1 | 145 | 189 | −44 | 3 | Qualification to third place game |
| 3 | Al Manama |
2 | 0 | 2 | 128 | 200 | −72 | 2 | Qualification to fifth place game |
21 September 2023 15:00 |
| Telekom Baskets Bonn |
105–50 | Al Manama |
| Scoring by quarter: 26–16, 24–6, 34–11, 21–17 | ||
| Pts: Griesel 28 Rebs: Griesel 10 Asts: Frey 6 |
Pts: Pointer 14 Rebs: Thibodeaux 5 Asts: Thibodeaux 6 | |
Singapore Indoor Stadium, Singapore Referees: Antonio Conde (ESP), Amy Bonner (USA), Wael Mostafa (EGY) |
22 September 2023 19:00 |
| Zhejiang Golden Bulls |
95–78 | Al Manama |
| Scoring by quarter: 23–15, 23–22, 32–21, 17–20 | ||
| Pts: Perry 17 Rebs: Perry 6 Asts: Yibo 6 |
Pts: Pointer 19 Rebs: Williams 10 Asts: Haji, Pointer 4 | |
Singapore Indoor Stadium, Singapore Referees: Yohan Rosso (FRA), Scott Beker (AUS), Yevgeniy Mikheyev (KAZ) |
23 September 2023 19:00 |
| Zhejiang Golden Bulls |
50–111 | Telekom Baskets Bonn |
| Scoring by quarter: 16–30, 11–33, 14–23, 9–25 | ||
| Pts: Perry 10 Rebs: Perry 9 Asts: three players 2 |
Pts: Griesel 16 Rebs: Turudic 9 Asts: Frey 9 | |
Singapore Indoor Stadium, Singapore Referees: Yohan Rosso (FRA), Omar Bermúdez (MEX), Viola Györgyi (ROM) |
Final phase
Fifth place game
The NBA G League Ignite captured the fifth place following their 80–60 win over Al Manama. Heading into the last three minutes, it was a close-contested game as the score was 63–60 with 3:33 remaining. From that point, the Ignite's Babacar Sané scored five straight points, followed by two three-pointers and a Ron Holland dunk that gave the Ignite a 17–0 run in the final three minutes. Sané had a double-double of 22 points and 11 rebounds, Ron Holland finished with 21 points and 11 rebounds.[10]
24 September 2023 12:00 |
| NBA G League Ignite |
80–60 | Al Manama |
| Scoring by quarter: 17–10, 19–20, 19–17, 25–13 | ||
| Pts: Sané 22 Rebs: Holland, Sané 11 Asts: Almansa 6 |
Pts: Pointer 20 Rebs: Pointer 13 Asts: Rashed 5 | |
Singapore Indoor Stadium, Singapore Referees: Yohan Rosso (FRA), Viola Györgyi (ROU), Wael Mostafa (EGY) |
Third place game
In the first half, Al Ahly had a lead as big as 11 points, however the Zhejiang Golden Bulls took control in the second half. Reggie Perry had a double-double of 23 points and 12 rebounds. Wu Qian contributed 20 points and 5 assists. The Golden Bulls became the first Chinese team to reach the podium in the Intercontinental Cup. Al Ahly finished fourth, which was the third time in a row the African representative finished in this position.[11]
24 September 2023 15:00 |
| Al Ahly |
74–81 | Zhejiang Golden Bulls |
| Scoring by quarter: 22–12, 16–25, 15–22, 21–22 | ||
| Pts: Amin, Oraby 14 Rebs: Fakuade, Oraby 11 Asts: Amin 4 |
Pts: Perry 23 Rebs: Perry 12 Asts: Gulley 7 | |
Singapore Indoor Stadium, Singapore Referees: Omar Bermúdez (MEX), Yevgeniy Mikheyev (KAZ), Péter Praksch (HUN) |
Final
In a tightly contested game, Telekom Baskets Bonn went into the final two minutes with the advantage, coming off a three-pointer by Christian Sengfelder. Glynn Watson Jr. made a floater to put Bonn up 69–68 with 38 seconds left in the game. Franca missed their last shot and did not foul with 26 seconds left in the game. After a shot clock violation, Franca coach Helinho called a time-out as the Brazilians prepared to inbound the ball in front court. Franca inbounded the ball Lucas Dias who scored a fadeaway jumper in the post to beat the buzzer.[2] Finishing with a score of 70–69, it was the second final to finish by a single point margin, following the first leg of 2015 between Bauru and Real Madrid. Franca became the third Brazilian team to win the Intercontintenal Cup, after Sírio and Flamengo.[2] David Jackson, at age 41, was named the FIBA Intercontinental Cup MVP following his 12 points and 8 assists in the final.[2]
24 September 2023 19:00 |
| Sesi Franca |
70–69 | Telekom Baskets Bonn |
| Scoring by quarter: 18–13, 16–21, 24–16, 12–19 | ||
| Pts: Márcio 15 Rebs: Márcio 8 Asts: Jackson 8 |
Pts: Watson Jr. 16 Rebs: Griesel, Kirkwood 5 Asts: Watson Jr. 5 | |
Singapore Indoor Stadium, Singapore Referees: Antonio Conde (ESP), Amy Bonner (USA), Scott Beker (AUS) |
Final standings
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
Sesi Franca |
3 | 3 | 0 | 258 | 228 | +30 | 6 |
 |
Telekom Baskets Bonn |
3 | 2 | 1 | 285 | 170 | +115 | 5 |
 |
Zhejiang Golden Bulls |
3 | 2 | 1 | 226 | 263 | −37 | 5 |
| 4 | Al Ahly |
3 | 1 | 2 | 226 | 247 | −21 | 4 |
| 5 | NBA G League Ignite |
3 | 1 | 2 | 245 | 240 | +5 | 4 |
| 6 | Al Manama |
3 | 0 | 3 | 188 | 280 | −92 | 3 |
Statistical leaders
The following players were the individual leaders in the 2023 tournament.[12]
| Category | Player | Team(s) | Statistic |
|---|---|---|---|
| Efficiency per game | David Jackson | Franca | 23.0 |
| Points per game | Lucas Dias | Franca | 18.0 |
| Rebounds per game | Omar Oraby | Al Ahly | 9.7 |
| Assists per game | Georginho | Franca | 5.8 |
| Steals per game | Glynn Watson Jr. | Telekom Baskets Bonn | 2.7 |
| Blocks per game | Sir'Dominic Pointer | Al Manama | 2.7 |
| Minutes per game | Sir'Dominic Pointer | Al Manama | 33.7 |
Footnotes
- NBA G League Ignite finished 11th place in the Western Conference of the 2022–23 NBA G League regular season, and didn't advance to the playoffs.
- Zhejiang Golden Bulls finished 1st place in the 2022–23 CBA regular season, and runners-up in the playoffs.
- Manama Club won the 2022–23 West Asia Super League which qualifies for the FIBA Asia Champions Cup, but was confirmed by FIBA on 19 June.
References
- "Singapore to host FIBA Intercontinental Cup under three-year partnership as competition reaches Asia in historical first". FIBA.basketball. Archived from the original on 9 March 2023. Retrieved 9 March 2023.
- "Incredible! Lucas Dias beats the buzzer for Franca to win the FIBA Intercontinental Cup". FIBA.basketball. 24 September 2023. Retrieved 24 September 2023.
- "Vlade Divac, Yi Jianlian and Ian Mahinmi headline 33rd FIBA Intercontinental Cup Draw in Singapore". FIBA.basketball. 19 June 2023. Retrieved 19 June 2023.
- "Al Ahly are the 2023 BAL champions". The BAL. 27 May 2023. Archived from the original on 27 May 2023. Retrieved 28 May 2023.
- "Sesi Franca crowned 2023 BCLA champions". FIBA.basketball. Archived from the original on 16 April 2023. Retrieved 16 April 2023.
- "Telekom Baskets Bonn celebrate their first Basketball Champions League title". FIBA.basketball. 14 May 2023. Archived from the original on 14 May 2023. Retrieved 14 May 2023.
- "Day 1 recap: Al Ahly stun NBA G League Ignite; smooth sailing for Bonn". FIBA.basketball. 21 September 2023. Retrieved 21 September 2023.
- "Day 2 recap: Sesi Franca dominate; Golden Bulls off to winning start". FIBA.basketball. Retrieved 23 September 2023.
- "Day 3 recap: Franca outlast Ignite, set up Final against Bonn". FIBA.basketball. 23 September 2023. Retrieved 23 September 2023.
- "Holland, Sane shine, NBA G League Ignite sign off with a win". FIBA.basketball. 24 September 2023. Retrieved 24 September 2023.
- "Zhejiang Golden Bulls edge out Al Ahly to reach podium on first try". FIBA.basketball. 24 September 2023. Retrieved 24 September 2023.
- "Players statistics of the 2023 FIBA Intercontinental Cup Singapore 2023". FIBA.basketball. Retrieved 24 September 2023.