ASEAN Basketball League facts for kids
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| Organising body | Tune Group |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1 October 2009 |
| First season | 2009–10 |
| Folded | 2023 |
| Country |  Brunei Taiwan Hong Kong Indonesia Macau Malaysia Philippines Singapore Thailand Vietnam |
| Confederation | FIBA Asia |
| Divisions | 1 |
| Number of teams | 6–10 |
| Last champions |  Hong Kong Eastern (2nd title) |
| Most championships |  Hi-Tech Bangkok City Hong Kong Eastern(2 titles each) |
| TV partners | Cable TV (Hong Kong) Singtel (Singapore) FPT (Vietnam) ABL (YouTube) |
The ASEAN Basketball League (ABL) was a professional basketball league for men in Southeast Asia. It had teams from eight different places, including Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Hong Kong, and Macau. Some teams from Taiwan and Brunei also played in the past. The idea for the league started in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Its first season began on October 1, 2009. The league stopped playing in 2023.
Contents
History of the ABL
How the League Started
Basketball leaders from six countries in Southeast Asia met in Metro Manila on September 1, 2009. They officially launched the new league. In its very first season, six teams from different nations in Southeast Asia joined:
| Team | City | Region |
|---|---|---|
| Brunei Barracudas | Bandar Seri Begawan | Brunei |
| Kuala Lumpur Dragons | Kuala Lumpur | Malaysia |
| Philippine Patriots | San Juan | Philippines |
| Satria Muda BritAma | Jakarta | Indonesia |
| Singapore Slingers | Kallang | Singapore |
| Thailand Tigers | Bangkok | Thailand |
Growing the League
Over the years, more teams joined the ABL. In 2011, the Brunei Barracudas left the league. But then, the Saigon Heat from Vietnam joined, becoming the first professional basketball team from that country. Other teams like San Miguel Beermen and Bangkok Cobras also joined. However, some teams, like the Beermen and Cobras, left after a short time.
In 2016, the league welcomed teams from outside Southeast Asia for the first time. These were Kaohsiung Truth from Taiwan and the Eastern Basketball Club from Hong Kong. The Philippines also got a new team, Alab Pilipinas. In 2017, four more teams joined, including CLS Knights Indonesia, Formosa Dreamers, and the returning Mono Vampire Basketball Club. The Nanhai Kung Fu also joined.
After the 2018 season, the Kung Fu team moved to Macau and became the Macau Black Bears. The league also added the Zhuhai Wolf Warriors. In 2019, a third team from Taiwan, Taipei Fubon Braves, joined. They were a very strong team, having won their home league championship.
Challenges and End of the League
The 2019–20 ABL season had to stop in March 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. This made the future of the ABL uncertain. Some teams left, and there were rumors that the league might close down. However, one of the ABL's owners said they planned to restart in 2021.
The plans to restart kept getting delayed. The league tried to set new start dates for 2022, but it didn't happen. In October 2022, the ABL announced it would return. An invitational tournament was held in 2023, which was won by Hong Kong Eastern.
However, on November 20, 2023, the league's future became very unclear. FIBA, the international basketball organization, stopped supporting the ABL. The Singapore Slingers team stated that it was "unlikely to play for the foreseeable future." This meant the ABL had officially stopped operating.
Teams that Played in the ABL
This map shows where many of the ABL teams were located.
Here is a list of all the teams that played in the ABL and when they were active:
| Nation | Team(s) | Year(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| From | To | ||
| Brunei |
Brunei Barracudas | 2009 | 2011 |
| Hong Kong |
Hong Kong Eastern | 2016 | 2023 |
| Indonesia |
CLS Knights Indonesia | 2017 | 2019 |
| Indonesia Warriors | 2012 | 2014 | |
| Laskar Dreya South Sumatra | 2014 | ||
| Louvre Surabaya | 2023 | ||
| Satria Muda | 2009 | 2011 | |
| Macau |
Macau Wolf Warriors | 2018 | 2020 |
| Macau Black Bears | 2017 | 2023 | |
| Malaysia |
Kuala Lumpur Dragons | 2009 | 2020 |
| NS Matrix Deers | 2023 | ||
| Philippines |
AirAsia Philippine Patriots | 2009 | 2012 |
| Pilipinas MX3 Kings | 2015 | 2016 | |
| San Miguel Alab Pilipinas | 2016 | 2020 | |
| San Miguel Beermen | 2012 | 2013 | |
| Zamboanga Valientes | 2023 | ||
 Chinese Taipei (Taiwan) |
Formosa Dreamers | 2017 | 2020 |
| Kaohsiung Truth | 2016 | 2017 | |
| Taipei Fubon Braves | 2019 | 2020 | |
| Singapore |
Singapore Slingers | 2009 | 2023 |
| Thailand |
Thailand Tigers | 2009 | |
| Bangkok Cobras | 2012 | ||
| Bangkok Tigers | 2023 | ||
| Hi-Tech Bangkok City | 2010 | 2016 | |
| Mono Vampire | 2015 | 2020 | |
| Vietnam |
Saigon Heat | 2012 | 2023 |
ABL Champions
The ABL finals were the championship games. Sometimes they were a "best-of-5" series, meaning a team had to win 3 games to be champions. Other times, they were a "best-of-3" series, where a team needed to win 2 games.
| Season | Finalists | Semi-finalists | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Champions | Result | Runners-up | |||
| 2009–10 |  Philippine Patriots^ |
3–0 |  Satria Muda |
 Kuala Lumpur Dragons |
 Singapore Slingers |
| 2010–11 | Chang Thailand Slammers^ |
2–0 | Philippine Patriots |
Singapore Slingers |
Westports KL Dragons |
| 2012 | Indonesia Warriors |
2–1 | San Miguel Beermen^ |
Philippine Patriots |
Westports Malaysia Dragons |
| 2013 | San Miguel Beermen^ |
3–0 | Indonesia Warriors |
Thailand Slammers |
Westports Malaysia Dragons |
| 2014 | Hi-Tech Bangkok City |
2–0 | Westports Malaysia Dragons^ |
 Saigon Heat |
Singapore Slingers |
| 2015–16 | Westports Malaysia Dragons^ |
3–2 | Singapore Slingers |
Hi-Tech Bangkok City |
Saigon Heat |
| 2016–17 | Hong Kong Eastern Long Lions^ |
3–1 | Singapore Slingers |
Alab Pilipinas |
Saigon Heat |
| 2017–18 | San Miguel Alab Pilipinas |
3–2 | Mono Vampire |
 Chong Son Kung Fu^ |
Hong Kong Eastern |
| 2018–19 | CLS Knights Indonesia |
3–2 | Singapore Slingers |
Hong Kong Eastern |
Mono Vampire |
| 2019–20 | Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Southeast Asia. | ||||
| 2020–21 | Not held due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Southeast Asia. | ||||
| 2021–22 | |||||
| 2023 | Hong Kong Eastern |
2–1 | Saigon Heat^ |
NS Matrix Deers |
Singapore Slingers |
- ^ means the team finished the regular season with the best win–loss record.
Championships Won by Each Club
This table shows how many championships (gold medals), second-place finishes (silver medals), and third-place finishes (bronze medals) each club earned.
| Team |  Gold |
 Silver |
 Bronze |
Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hi-Tech Bangkok City |
2 | 0 | 2 | 4 |
| Hong Kong Eastern |
2 | 0 | 2 | 4 |
| Kuala Lumpur Dragons |
1 | 1 | 4 | 6 |
| AirAsia Philippine Patriots |
1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| Indonesia Warriors |
1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| San Miguel Beermen |
1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Alab Pilipinas |
1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| CLS Knights Indonesia |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Singapore Slingers |
0 | 3 | 4 | 7 |
| Saigon Heat |
0 | 1 | 3 | 4 |
| Mono Vampire |
0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Satria Muda BritAma |
0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
 Macau Black Bears |
0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| NS Matrix Deers |
0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Total | 10 | 10 | 20 | 40 |
- Italic: teams from outside Southeast Asia
Individual Player Awards
The ABL gave out several awards to players and coaches each season. These included the Local MVP (Most Valuable Player), World Import MVP, ASEAN Heritage MVP, and Defensive Player of the Year. There was also a Coach of the Year award.
Before the 2015–16 ABL season, there was only one MVP award for players from other countries, called the Best Import award. Later, it was split into two: one for "World Imports" (players from outside Southeast Asia) and one for "ASEAN Heritage Imports" (players from other Southeast Asian countries or those with a parent from Southeast Asia). The Defensive Player of the Year and Coach of the Year awards started in the 2012 season.
Most Valuable Players (MVPs)
Local MVPs
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World Import MVPs
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Heritage Import MVPs
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Finals MVPs
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Other Special Awards
Defensive Player of the YearThis award was given to the player who was best at defense in the league.
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Coach of the YearThis award was given to the best coach in the league for that season.
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Related Basketball Leagues
- ABL 3x3 International Champions Cup
- East Asia Super League
- West Asia Super League
- FIBA Asia Champions Cup
- AsiaBasket
See also
In Spanish: Liga de Baloncesto de la ASEAN para niños
