AsiaBasket
AsiaBasket, also known as FilBasket in the Philippines, is an Asian men's professional basketball league founded in 2021.
| Most recent season or competition: 2023 AsiaBasket Las Piñas Championship | |
 | |
| Sport | Basketball |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2021 |
| Founder | Jai Reyes |
| Inaugural season | Subic Championship (2021) |
| No. of teams | 10 |
| Country | Philippines Indonesia Malaysia Brunei (all-time) |
| Continent | FIBA Asia |
| Most recent champion(s) | Ateneo Blue Eagles (Las Piñas) |
| Most titles | five teams (1 title each) |
| TV partner(s) | AsiaBasket (Facebook, YouTube) Solar Sports |
| Official website | asiabasket |
It was founded as the Filipino Basketball League (FilBasket), a domestic basketball tournament in the Philippines. Its first tournament was the Subic Championship held in 2021. It was followed by the Summer Championship the following year. In the same year, the FilBasket expanded overseas, holding the 2022 FilBasket International Championship in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
The league was renamed as AsiaBasket, with the 2023 AsiaBasket International Championship also held in Malaysia.
History
FilBasket era (2021–2022)
The Filipino Basketball League (FilBasket) was established by former UAAP college player Jai Reyes and Buddy Encarnado of the 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 community quarantine measures. This includes players of the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) which saw its 2019–20 season delayed due to COVID-19 measures. Hence many teams from the MPBL have joined the FilBasket, while not leaving the former, in a bid to play more competitive games.[2]
The Games and Amusements Board (GAB) of the Philippine government contends that FilBasket is a professional league and not an amateur league as the league organizers believe, hence the league falls under its jurisdiction.[3] The FilBasket organizers admitted that the long-term plan is for the league to become a professional league although it maintains that it will be an amateur league initially.[4] The dispute was reportedly resolved in October 2021, with FilBasket pushing through with its first tournament, the FilBasket Subic Championship.[3] Filbasket secured approval from SBMA and the IATF for a bubble tournament at the Subic Bay Gymnasium, in accordance to regulations for amateur leagues.[5]
The Filbasket Subic Championship concluded with AICC Manila being the winners. However the GAB issued a cease and desist order insisting that Filbasket is a professional league[6] and declared the tournament held last year as unlawful although it did not impose any further sanctions.[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 already granted professional status by the GAB.[9] The league would hold its first professional tournament, the Filbasket Summer Championship, in early 2022.[10]
FilBasket would also hold its first international tournament, the 2022 International Championship in the latter part of 2022 in Malaysia.[11]
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 used for the 2023 Las Piñas Championship in July 2023, which featured an all-Filipino roster of teams.[12][13]
The 2023 Dasmariñas Championship will take place in Dasmariñas, Cavite, Philippines in November 2023, and will feature United States-based Statham Academy led by Filipino-American Taylor Statham, marking the first time the league will feature a team based outside of Asia.
Teams
Teams competed at the 2023 AsiaBasket Las Piñas Championship:
| Name | Locality | First played | Country |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ateneo Blue Eagles | Loyola Heights, Quezon City | Las Piñas 2023 |  Philippines |
| CSB Blazers | Malate, Manila | International 2023 | |
| Corsa Tires | Las Piñas 2023 | ||
| FEU Tamaraws | Sampaloc, Manila | Las Piñas 2023 | |
| Letran Knights | Intramuros, Manila | Las Piñas 2023 | |
| Perpetual Altas | Las Piñas | Las Piñas 2023 | |
| Pilipinas Aguilas | International 2022 | ||
| San Beda Red Lions | Mendiola, Manila | International 2023 | |
| Sanzar Pharmaceuticals | Las Piñas | International 2023 | |
| Uratex | Muntinlupa | Las Piñas 2023 |
Previous teams
| Name | Locality | Country | First tournament | Last tournament |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pegasus Brunei | Bandar Seri Begawan |  Brunei |
International 2022 | |
| Bumi Borneo | Pontianak, West Kalimantan |  Indonesia |
International 2022 | |
| Elang Pacific Caesar | Surabaya | International 2022 | ||
| KL Aseel | Kuala Lumpur |  Malaysia |
International 2022 | International 2023 |
| Harimau Malaysia | Kuala Lumpur | International 2022 | International 2023 | |
| MBC Kirin | Malacca City | International 2022 | International 2023 | |
| BGC Builders | Taguig City | Philippines |
International 2022 | International 2023 |
| MFT Fruit Masters | Quezon City | International 2023 | ||
| Shawarma Shack Pilipinas | Quezon City | International 2022 | International 2023 | |
| The Th3rd Floor – KalosPH | Quezon City | International 2023 | ||
| Singapore Adroit | Woodlands |  Singapore |
International 2022 | |
FilBasket
Teams which took part in previous FilBasket tournaments held in the Philippines:
Venues
| Year | Tournament | Arena | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Filbasket Subic Championship | Subic Bay Gymnasium | Olongapo, Zambales |
| 2022 | Filbasket Summer Championship | San Jose Del Monte City Sports Complex Muntinlupa Sports Center SGS Stadium |
San Jose del Monte, Bulacan Muntinlupa Quezon City |
| Filbasket International Championship | MABA Stadium | Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia | |
| 2023 | AsiaBasket International Championship | MABA Stadium | Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia |
| AsiaBasket Las Piñas Championship | Villar Coliseum | Las Piñas | |
| AsiaBasket Dasmariñas Championship | Dasmariñas Arena | Dasmariñas, Cavite |
Champions
| Teams | Win | Loss | Total | Edition(s) won | Edition(s) lost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AICC Manila | 1 | 0 | 1 | Subic (2021) | — |
| Nueva Ecija Capitals | 1 | 0 | 1 | Summer (2022) | — |
| Harimau Malaysia | 1 | 0 | 1 | International (2022) | — |
| Ateneo Blue Eagles | 1 | 0 | 1 | Las Piñas (2023) | — |
| KL Aseel | 1 | 1 | 2 | International (2023) | International (2022) |
| San Juan Knights | 0 | 2 | 2 | — | Subic (2021), Summer (2022) |
| CSB Blazers | 0 | 1 | 1 | — | Las Piñas (2023) |
| San Beda Red Lions | 0 | 1 | 1 | — | International (2023) |
See also
References
- Joble, Rey (October 29, 2021). "Why FilBasket insists it is an amateur league". Manila Times. Retrieved January 11, 2022.
- Joble, Rey (August 11, 2021). "Sta. Lucia joins FilBasket League". The Manila Times. Retrieved January 11, 2022.
- Mendoza, Martin (October 25, 2021). "Filbasket clears up GAB issue, to push through with inaugural tournament". Rappler. Retrieved January 11, 2022.
- Rosale, Dale (October 27, 2021). "FilBasket kicks off Thursday". Cebu Daily News. Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved January 11, 2022.
- Reyes, Kate (July 22, 2021). "Jai Reyes to formally open FilBasket this August". Sports Interactive Network Philippines. Retrieved January 11, 2022.
- Navarro, June (November 23, 2021). "GAB issues cease and desist order vs Filbasket". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved January 11, 2022.
- Ramos, Gerry (January 14, 2022). "GAB fires warning after Filbasket's maiden tournament ruled 'unlawful'". Sports Interactive Network Philippines. Retrieved January 15, 2022.
- Li, Matthew (February 22, 2022). "Filbasket, Super League begin process of turning pro". Tiebreaker Times. Retrieved February 22, 2022.
- "Pro status, new teams boost Filbasket ahead of second season". ABS-CBN News. March 1, 2022. Retrieved March 1, 2022.
- Li, Matthew (May 8, 2022). "Filbasket: Palma lifts Nueva Ecija to Summer Championship". Tiebreaker Times. Retrieved October 23, 2022.
- 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.
- "Untitled". Instagram. AsiaBasket. March 3, 2023. Retrieved March 11, 2023.
AsiaBasket on Instagram: "🚨 #AsiaBasket The Filipino Basketball League (Filbasket) has announced a major rebrand, marking a new chapter in the league's history... ...Effective immediately, the league will now be known as AsiaBasket.
- Morales, Luisa (March 10, 2023). "Filbasket expands, rebrands into AsiaBasket". The Philippine Star. Retrieved March 11, 2023.