The beginning of the new Asian professional basketball tournament will be celebrated in Macau at Studio City Event Center from September 20 to 24, where eight of Asia’s top teams will come together for an invitational tournament.
The federation includes eight clubs from five countries, all of which were champion contenders in their domestic leagues, according to a statement issued by Asia league.
In addition to full domestic player rosters, each team will be permitted to import two players.
Supported by the Sports Bureau (ID) and the Macau Government Tourism Office (MGTO), Asia League stated that it intends to use the inaugural 2017 tournament to position itself as Asia Pacific’s premier club-to-club competition platform. The winner of this tournament will be crowned as the region’s champion.
After the first tournament, the scale of competitions in 2018 will be expandedto include more top-level teams.
Asia League’s founders and management team have designed a first-of-its-kind commercial model for Asian cross-border basketball competition, the statement noted.
Participating teams in Asia League’s inaugural tournament include: China’s Shenzhen Leopard and Zhejiang Guangsha Lions; Japan’s Chiba Jets and Ryukyu Golden Kings; Goyang Orions and Samsung Thunders of South Korea; Philippines’ Gilas Pilipinas and Taiwan’s Fubon Braves.
The teams will be divided into two groups of four, each playing three round-robin games.
With 16 games to be played in total, the best two teams from each group will advance to the top four, which will played the following day in a winner-takes-all style semi-finals and finals.
Asia League’s live streaming broadcast will be available on primetime TV and digital platforms in all Asia League markets and across the globe.
