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Mike Chan

South China have been left facing a fixture pile-up after the war in the Middle East forced officials to move the Basketball Champions League Asia to the first two weeks of October.
With domestic matches in Hong Kong also traditionally starting the same month, the BCLA East winners could be in for a busy end of the year.
The local side also face the prospect of losing several key players who helped them win the East title, with the likes of Dominic Gilbert, Glen Yang, Leung Shiu-wah and Tsai Choi-kwan all on loan from other teams.
Hong Kong Eastern could also be affected given they are expected to compete in the East Asia Super League, which also tends to tip off in October.
And an official with the Basketball Association of Hong Kong has admitted that with few venues in the city “it would be a nightmare for us to accommodate [the fixtures] with the overseas ones”.

World governing body Fiba had to change the schedule because the qualifying tournament in the West region, which was scheduled to finish in April, has been delayed until the end of September.
The top two sides from the West will then join South China and runner’s up Taoyuan Pauian Pilots from Taiwan in October’s tournament, along with the top teams from domestic leagues in China, Japan, Korea and the Philippines.
Despite the potential for a busy start to the new season, guard Kelvin Tsang Cham-yuen is eager to continue the “dreamlike journey”.
“We aimed at qualifying from the group phase, and were not thinking about reaching the final four in Malaysia, let alone winning it,” he said. “I hope I can use what I learned to keep pushing Hong Kong basketball forward.”
Head coach Lo Yi-ting said reaching the champions league represented a massive improvement for basketball in Hong Kong, while star player Yang said it had been comparable to playing internationals for the city.
“The progression from the first game all the way to the final win shows our persistence and never give up attitude, which is something instilled in you when you play for South China,” Yang, the BCL Asia East MVP, said.
“We got hot at the right time and sometimes that’s all it takes with the right group to go win a bunch of games. We also knew teams were overlooking and underestimating us, so that added motivation was fuel to the fire.
“Personally, representing Hong Kong was also motivating as it felt like we were a national team playing for our country too.”
In April 2024, Eastern became the first team from the city to compete in the top tier for more than 20 years and topped their group in the first qualifying phase before losing all three matches in the second round.
In the competition’s previous guises from 1981 until 2019, Regal were the only team from Hong Kong to win the regional crown, beating Kia Motors 64-59 in the 1997 final. They lost a heartbreaker 71-70 to Beijing Hanwei in the final a year later.


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Fiba (International Basketball Federation)

War in Middle East leaves South China facing basketball fixtures pile-up

South China will have a busy start to their 2026-27 season after winning the Basketball Champions League Asia - East. Photo: Handout

Glen Yang in action against Taoyuan Pauian Pilots in Malaysia. Photo: Handout

Sport

Basketball

Hong Kong

Moving Basketball Champions League Asia to October could see competition clash with domestic league in Hong Kong


Moving Basketball Champions League Asia to October could see competition clash with domestic league in Hong Kong.


Basketball Association of Hong Kong, China

War in Middle East leaves South China facing basketball fixtures pile-up

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Moving Basketball Champions League Asia to October could see competition clash with domestic league in Hong Kong

Moving Basketball Champions League Asia to October could see competition clash with domestic league in Hong Kong