‘Bigger party’ for Asian University Basketball League next year as Taiwan college win crown
AUBL CEO says next season likely to feature 15-16 teams playing home and away matches, ending with ‘Elite Eight’ knockout event in one city
Taiwan’s National Chengchi University, the NCCU Griffins, were crowned champions of the Asian University Basketball League in Hangzhou on Sunday after they beat mainland China’s Tsinghua University to the first pan-regional intercollegiate title.
The 82-79 win at Binjiang Gymnasium marked the end of the inaugural event, which saw 12 universities from China, Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Mongolia pitted against one another in 24 matches across seven days, but the league’s chief said more teams would play when the competition returns next year.
“We’re going to have more teams and more groups. We’re looking to have 15 or 16 teams,” said Jay Li Jintian, chief executive of AUBL, on Sunday. “The new season, the first to have home and away matches, will start in late 2026.
“We might plan some pre-season, but the 2026-2027 season is likely to run from November to next April. We’re definitely going to have more than 12 teams taking part in the tournament next year, and we are likely to have an ‘Elite Eight’ knockout tournament in one city.”
Li said the proposed single-elimination knockout stage does not have to be held in China, but rather in the “most suitable” market in the region.
“It’s all flexible at this point, and it’s too early to say,” he said. “We’re still talking about a lot of things, but we will finalise everything by the end of the year.