Balkan International Basketball League
| Current season, competition or edition: Current sports event 2023–24 BIBL season | |
| File:BIBL logo 23-10-2022 White.jpeg BIBL Official Logo | |
| Sport | Basketball |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2008 |
| No. of teams | Variable by season |
| Countries | Current countries File:Flag of Bulgaria.svg Bulgaria File:Flag of Cyprus.svg Cyprus File:Flag of Israel.svg Israel File:Flag of Kosovo.svg Kosovo File:Flag of Montenegro.svg Montenegro File:Flag of North Macedonia.svg North Macedonia Former countries |
| Continent | FIBA Europe (Europe) |
| Most recent champion | Kosovo Sigal Prishtina (3rd title) |
| Most titles | Kosovo Sigal Prishtina (3 titles) |
| Broadcasters | RIK 2 sportmedia.tv YouTube RTSH |
| Official website | balkanleague.net |
The Balkan International Basketball League (BIBL), also known as the Balkan League and as the Delasport BIBL Balkan League for sponsorship reasons, is a multinational professional basketball league featuring clubs primarily from the Balkans. The league includes teams from countries such as Bulgaria, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Kosovo, Cyprus, and Israel. The most recent league champion is Sigal Prishtina from Kosovo.
The purpose of the Balkan International Basketball League is to provide competitive international play for clubs in the Balkans that might otherwise be unable to participate in international basketball. The league achieves this by providing financial support to all participating clubs to offset the costs associated with international competition.[1] Notably, the league is also the first international league of its kind to include teams from Kosovo.
Format
[edit | edit source]After the 2017–2018 season, the Balkan International Basketball League introduced a new, simplified competition format. Under this format, the competition typically features between 6 and 8 teams. The tournament is divided into two phases: the regular season, where all participating teams play each other in a double round-robin format, both home and away. Following the conclusion of the regular season, the first- and second-placed teams automatically qualify for the Final Four. The third-placed team plays the sixth-placed team, and the fourth-placed team plays the fifth-placed team in home-and-away games to determine which teams will advance to the Final Four. The winning teams from these matchups then advance to the Final Four to compete for that season's BIBL Balkan League championship.[2]
Additionally, at the start of the 2020–2021 season, 12 teams from Israel participated in the league to ensure access to competitive games during the COVID-19 pandemic.[3]
Championships
[edit | edit source]Titles by club
[edit | edit source]| Club | Championships | Runner-ups | Championship years | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kosovo Sigal Prishtina | 3 | — | 2014–15, 2015–16, 2023−24 |
| 2 | Bulgaria Levski Sofia | 3 | 2 | 2009–10, 2013–14, 2017–18 |
| 3 | Israel Hapoel Gilboa Galil | 2 | 1 | 2011–12, 2012–13 |
| 4 | Bulgaria Rilski Sportist | 1 | 2 | 2008–09 |
| 5 | North Macedonia Feni Industries | 1 | — | 2010–11 |
| Bulgaria Beroe | 2016–17 | |||
| North Macedonia Blokotehna | 2018–19 | |||
| Israel Hapoel Holon | 2020–21 | |||
| Israel Hapoel Galil Elyon | 2021–22 | |||
| Israel Hapoel Be'er Sheva/Dimona | 2022–23 | |||
| 10 | North Macedonia Feršped Rabotnički | — | 1 | |
| Montenegro Lovćen | ||||
| Montenegro Mornar | ||||
| North Macedonia Kumanovo | ||||
| Kosovo Bashkimi | ||||
| Albania Teuta | ||||
| Bulgaria Academic Plovdiv | ||||
| Israel Maccabi Haifa | ||||
| Kosovo Peja | ||||
| Cyprus PAYABL EKA AEL |
Titles by country
[edit | edit source]| Country | Championships | Runner-ups | Championship years | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | File:Flag of Bulgaria.svg Bulgaria | 5 | 5 | 2008–09, 2009–10, 2013–14, 2016–17, 2017–18 |
| 2 | File:Flag of Israel.svg Israel | 5 | 2 | 2011–12, 2012–13, 2020–21, 2021–22, 2022–23 |
| 3 | File:Flag of Kosovo.svg Kosovo | 3 | 2 | 2014–15, 2015-16, 2023–24 |
| 4 | File:Flag of North Macedonia.svg North Macedonia | 2 | 2 | 2011-12, 2018-19 |
| 5 | File:Flag of Montenegro.svg Montenegro | — | 2 | |
| 6 | File:Flag of Albania.svg Albania | — | 1 | |
| 7 | File:Flag of Cyprus.svg Cyprus | — | 1 |
Clubs (2023-24 season)
[edit | edit source]References
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