BEIRUT (Lebanon)- An increased number of teams in the Final Phase and the Group Phase being played according to Sub-Divisions are the highlights that will catch the attention of fans as the stage is being prepared for the 2026 season of BCL Asia-East, a FIBA owned league involving leading club teams representing the National Federations coming under the South East and East Asia sub-zones of FIBA Asia.
The number of teams playing the Group Phase remains at eight – the same as in BCL Asia-East 2025 – but unlike last year, when a draw was conducted to establish the groupings, action this year will start with teams clubbed together according to their respective Sub-Zones.
Group A (South East) will feature teams from South East Asia – from Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, Vietnam and the likes while Group B (East) will comprise teams from East Asia –from Chinese Taipei, Mongolia, Hong Kong and the likes.
All games during the Group Phase will be played on the caravan model.
The top three teams from each group in the Group Phase will advance to the Final 6, where the teams will be drawn once again into two groups for the Preliminary Round. It may be recalled the Final Phase last year involved only four teams, played in a Knock-Out format, Semi-Finals onwards.
The BCL Asia-East 2026 Final 6 will see teams being seeded into two groups three teams with the top two advancing to the criss-cross Semi-Finals and then the Finals. The top two teams, subject to not more than one team from each National Federation, will qualify to play in the BCL Asia 2026.
The final confirmation of teams and schedule for BCL Asia-East 2026 is expected soon.
FIBA