The 2023 ABL Invitational was an invitational tournament held by the ASEAN Basketball League. The elimination round tipped off on 2 January in

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

, before moving to 3 other host countries. The tournament ended with the finals played from 3 to 15 March. The 2023 Invitational featured eight teams from the region. Intended to signify the return of the ABL, it ended up being the last tournament the league held before

FIBA The International Basketball Federation (FIBA ; French language, French: ) is an association of national organizations which governs the sport of basketball worldwide. FIBA defines the rules of basketball, specifies the Basketball equipment ...

dropped support for the league, leaving its future uncertain.

Teams

Changes from 2019–20 season

New teams: * Bangkok Tigers *

Louvre Surabaya Louvre Surabaya is an Indonesian professional basketball team based in Surabaya, East Java. Founded in 2019, the team made its debut in the 2023 season of the ASEAN Basketball League. Home games of Louvre are played at the Hi-Test Arena. The c ...

NS Matrix Deers NS Matrix Deers, simply known as NS Matrix, are a Malaysian men's professional basketball club based in Seremban. Founded in 2015, the Deers currently play in the Major Basketball League Malaysia (MBL). They also played in the Basketball Champio ...

Zamboanga Valientes The Zamboanga Valientes, also known as the Zamboanga Peninsula Valientes MLV, are a Filipino professional basketball team based in the Zamboanga Peninsula. The team has competed in numerous leagues since its founding in 2006. The team first com ...

Did not participate: *

Alab Pilipinas San Miguel Alab Pilipinas (under the corporate name Pilipinas Basketball Club, Inc. or PBCI) was a Filipino professional basketball team which played in the ASEAN Basketball League (ABL) under the sponsorship of San Miguel Corporation. The te ...

Formosa Dreamers The Formosa Dreamers ( zh, 福爾摩沙夢想家) are a Taiwanese professional basketball team based in Taichung City. They have competed in the Taiwan Professional Basketball League (TPBL) and play their home games at the Taichung Intercontinental ...

Kuala Lumpur Dragons The Kuala Lumpur Dragons are a professional basketball team based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia that last played in the ASEAN Basketball League. They also played as the Blustar Detergent Dragons in the Philippines' PBA Developmental League in 2016 ...

* Macau Wolf Warriors *

Mono Vampire The Mono Vampire Basketball Club () is a Thailand, Thai professional basketball team that previously played in the ASEAN Basketball League. They have also participated in the Thailand Basketball League. It is owned by Mono 29, Mono Group, a Tha ...

Taipei Fubon Braves The Taipei Fubon Braves () are a professional basketball team that is owned by Fubon Sports & Entertainment, LLC., one of the subsidiaries under Fubon Financial Holding Co., Ltd. and currently plays in the Taiwanese P. League+. From 2014 to ...

Personnel

Imports

All teams can register a maximum of 3 foreigners and 1 heritage player. The

salary cap In professional sports, a salary cap (or wage cap) is an agreement or rule that places a limit on the amount of money that a team can spend on players' salaries. It exists as a per-player limit or a total limit for the team's roster, or both. Seve ...

for the foreign players is set at

US$ The United States dollar (Currency symbol, symbol: Dollar sign, $; ISO 4217, currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and International use of the U.S. dollar, several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introdu ...

20,000 per month.

Elimination round

The invitational tournament had a new format compared to previous seasons. There will be four rolling tournaments before the lead up to best-of-three semi-finals and finals. At the end of the four tournaments, each team would have played one another twice, and a total of 14 matches. The top four teams would advance to the semi-finals. The second leg will be in Batam, Indonesia, third leg in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and the fourth leg in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. The semi final and final will be held also in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

Tournaments

Standings

Results

Bracket

Semi-finals

The semi-final is a best-of-three series with game 3 being played if necessary.

(1) Saigon Heat vs. (4) Singapore Slingers

(2) Hong Kong Eastern vs. (3) NS Matrix Deers

Final: (1) Saigon Heat vs. (2) Hong Kong Eastern

The final is a best-of-three series with game 3 being played if necessary.

Awards

Finals awards

End-of-tournament awards

The winners were announced after Game 3 of the 2023 ABL Finals at the Nguyễn Du Indoor Stadium, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. *Defensive Player of the Year: Chris McLaughlin (

Hong Kong Eastern The Eastern Sports Club (), also known as Hong Kong Eastern (), is a professional men's basketball team of the Eastern Sports Club. The team also known as (). Eastern competes in the Hong Kong A1 Division, and the ASEAN Basketball League sin ...

) *Coach of the Year:

Željko Pavličević Željko Pavličević (born 26 March 1951) is a Croatian professional basketball coach and former player. He currently serves as the head coach for Eastern Sports Club (basketball), Eastern in ASEAN Basketball League. Early life Pavličević began ...

(

)

Statistical leaders

Individual leaders

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:ABL 2022–23 in Asian basketball leagues

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...