Basketball 

Vietnamese students compete in the Vietnam Collegiate Basketball Championship 2025-26. Việt Nam has been assigned hosts of the Asian University Basketball League's Southern Conference which begin next April. — Photo courtesy of New Sports

HÀ NỘI — The Asian University Basketball League (AUBL), which brings together 18 top institute teams from across the continent, has officially  picked Việt Nam as the host of the Southern Conference fixture for the 2026-27 season.

The 2026-27 season will feature 54 total games, the largest slate in league history. The regular season runs November through April across two conferences, the 12-team Eastern Conference and the six-team Southern Conference, with nine Eastern and three Southern teams advancing to Championship Week in August.

The AUBL has also ushered in a new era, unveiling the format and schedule for the first home-and-away season ever played in the Asian college game. The region’s elite university programmes will face off on their own home courts and in their rivals’ arenas, with a full season of competition to determine who stands above the rest.

“This is a landmark moment for university basketball in Asia,” said Jay Li, CEO of AUBL. “For the first time, the continent’s best college teams will be tested home and away, and that changes everything. This season will connect different cultures and styles of basketball, bring the game to more fans than ever and give student-athletes new opportunities to travel, compete and learn. Those experiences will shape the stars of tomorrow and build a stronger future for Asian basketball.”

The Hà Nội event is scheduled from April 7 to 11, 2027. Six university teams are the University of Sydney (Australia), National Chengchi University (Chinese Taipei), the Chinese University of Hong Kong (Hong Kong, China), Perbanas Institute (Indonesia), City University of Macau (China), and a representative team of the hosts.

The teams will be divided into two groups of three and play a single round-robin format to determine their standings. The top two teams in each group will advance to the Final Four and compete for three places in Championship Week 2027 in August.

The full Southern Conference groupings and schedule will be announced at a later date.

A poster of the Asian University Basketball League 2026.

Earlier, the Eastern Conference teams split into four groups of three, with games from November to March in China, South Korea, Japan, Mongolia and the Philippines. The nine strongest teams will advance to the next stage.

Everything builds to Championship Week from August 16 to 22, 2027, when the 12 qualifiers will battle through group play and a single-elimination knockout stage for the right to be crowned the best in Asia.

New Sports JSC, which has experience organising and operating major domestic and international sporting events, including the Vietnam Pro-Am Basketball Championship and Vietnam Collegiate Basketball Championship, will organise the AUBL's Southern Conference competition.

According to organisers, as AUBL reinvents the scale, structure and stakes of Asian college basketball, the 2026-27 season stands as the league’s boldest step yet in its mission to grow the university game across the region. By bringing elite competition onto campuses in new markets, AUBL is building rivalries that cross borders, introducing a new generation of fans to college basketball and giving student-athletes the chance to compete internationally while pursuing their education. — VNS