Taiwan Professional Basketball League
Taiwanese professional basketball league
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Taiwan Professional Basketball League (TPBL, Chinese: 台灣職業籃球大聯盟) is a professional basketball league in Taiwan composed of seven teams. It is the fourth Taiwanese professional basketball league after the Chinese Basketball Alliance (CBA; 1994–1999), P. League+ (PLG; founded in 2020), and T1 League (2021–2024).
| Upcoming season or competition: | |
| Sport | Basketball |
|---|---|
| Founded | July 9, 2024 |
| First season | 2024–25 |
| Commissioner | Chuang Jui-Hsiung |
| Motto | Nothing But Love |
| No. of teams | 7 |
| Country | Taiwan |
Most recent champions | Formosa Dreamers (1st title) |
| Most titles | New Taipei Kings Formosa Dreamers (1 each) |
| Broadcasters | VL Sports MOMOTV Sportcast |
| International cup | Basketball Champions League Asia |
| Website | tpbl |
History
2024
On June 22, 2024, Walter Wang, the chairman of the New Taipei Kings, announced that the new league would be established. Four teams of the P. League+ (the Formosa Dreamers, Hsinchu Toplus Lioneers, Kaohsiung 17LIVE Steelers, and the New Taipei Kings) and five teams of the T1 League (the Kaohsiung Aquas, New Taipei CTBC DEA, Tainan TSG GhostHawks, Taipei Mars, and the Taiwan Beer Leopards) submitted a letter of intent to join the new league.[1] There was a Southeast Asia basketball team would join the league.[a] On June 24, the new league preparation committee announced that the new season would start on November.[3] On June 26, the P. League+ announced that two leagues aimed to merge for the 2024–25 season.[4] T1 League announced that the five teams of the T1 League would organize the new league for the 2024–25 season.[5] The new league preparation committee announced that the eleven teams of the two leagues would organize the new league.[6] On July 1, Chang Shu-Jen, the general manager of the Hsinchu Toplus Lioneers, was temporarily named as the spokesman of the new league.[7] The new league preparation committee announced that P. League+ and T1 League would jointly hold the united draft on July 15.[8] On July 8, Chuang Jui-Hsiung was named as the commissioner of the new league.[9] The Taipei Fubon Braves, Taoyuan Pauian Pilots, and the Kaohsiung 17LIVE Steelers announced to quit the new league in preparation for the new season of the P. League+.[10] On July 9, the Tainan TSG GhostHawks announced to quit the new league preparation for the new season of the P. League+.[11] The Taipei Taishin Mars, New Taipei Kings, New Taipei CTBC DEA, Taoyuan Taiwan Beer Leopards, Hsinchu Toplus Lioneers, Formosa Dreamers, and the Kaohsiung Aquas announced to join the Taiwan Professional Basketball League.[12] On July 23, the TPBL held the first draft. 33 players participated in the draft, and 11 players were chosen in three rounds.[13] On August 1, the TPBL announced that Wang Chih-Chun and Yang He-Ping, former secretary general of the T1 League and former chief operating officer of the P. League+, were the deputy secretaries of the league.[14] On August 21, the TPBL announced that the new season would play as seven teams.[15] On September 19, the TPBL announced that Larry Chi was the secretary general of the league.[16] On October 19, the 2024–25 season opening game, matched by the New Taipei CTBC DEA and the Formosa Dreamers, was played at Taichung Intercontinental Basketball Stadium.[17]
2025
On February 19, 2025, the TPBL announced a three-year partnership with the WSC Sports.[18] On March 21, the KC Global Media Asia announced a five-year English broadcasting partnership with the TPBL.[19][20] On March 26, the TPBL announced a sponsorship with the Google Pixel.[21] On April 10, the TPBL announced a partnership with the ALUXE.[22] On June 29, the New Taipei Kings defeated the Kaohsiung Aquas, 4–3, winning the 2024–25 season championship.[23] On July 16, the TPBL and P. League+ announced the cooperation for 7+3 teams playing in the 2025–26 season.[24] On July 25, the TPBL cancelled the cooperation with P. League+, and the TPBL only discussed with P. League+ for league merging.[25] On July 31, the TPBL stopped the discussion with P. League+ for league merging, and started to prepare for the 2025–26 season.[26] On August 11, the TPBL held the second draft. 27 players participated in the draft, and eight players were chosen in two rounds.[27] On August 27, the TPBL announced that Larry Chi had resigned as secretary general, and named Wang Chih-Chun and Cheng Po-Jen, the deputy secretary and commissioner secretary of the league, as their interim secretary general and new deputy secretary.[28] On October 11, the 2025–26 season opening game, matched by the Kaohsiung Aquas and the New Taipei Kings, was played at Xinzhuang Gymnasium.[29]
2026
On March 3, 2026, the TPBL announced a partnership with the INMORIES.[30] On June 6, the Formosa Dreamers defeated the New Taipei Kings, 4–3, winning the 2025–26 season championship.[31] On July 1, the TPBL announced that Yang He-Ping had resigned as deputy secretary.[32] On July 16, the TPBL held the third draft. 28 players participated in the draft, and eight players were chosen in two rounds.[33]
Teams
| Team | Chinese name | Location | Arena (2026–27 season) | Founded | Joined | Map |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Formosa Dreamers | 福爾摩沙夢想家 | Taichung City | Taichung Intercontinental Basketball Stadium | 2017 | 2024 | |
| Hsinchu Toplus Lioneers | 新竹御嵿攻城獅 | Hsinchu County | Hsinchu County Stadium | 2020 | 2024 | |
| Kaohsiung Aquas | 高雄全家海神 | Kaohsiung City | Kaohsiung Arena | 2021 | 2024 | |
| New Taipei CTBC DEA | 新北中信特攻 | New Taipei City | Xinzhuang Gymnasium | 2021 | 2024 | |
| New Taipei Kings | 新北國王 | New Taipei City | Xinzhuang Gymnasium | 2021 | 2024 | |
| Taipei Taishin Mars | 臺北台新戰神 | Taipei City | Taipei Heping Basketball Gymnasium | 2023 | 2024 | |
| Taoyuan Taiwan Beer Leopards | 桃園台啤永豐雲豹 | Taoyuan City | Taoyuan Arena | 2021 | 2024 |
Rules and regulations
Games
Each quarter plays 12 minutes. Each game plays 48 minutes in total.[34]
Players
- Each team can register nine to 14 local players and four import players.[34][35]
- The teams representing the league at the East Asia Super League can register one Asian import player. These teams can only register four import players after the registration deadline. The eligibility of an Asian import player is that same as a foreign student player.[34]
- Each team is able to register one naturalised player as a local player when the naturalised player stayed in the same team for three years after finishing naturalisation.[34]
- Each team is able to select eight to 14 players to the active roster in each match.[34]
- Each team is able to select two to three import players into the active roster in each match.[34]
- 8-imports-in-4-quarters rule: each quarter can have two import players on the court.[34]
Regular season
Each team plays against another six times, three at home and three on the road. Each team plays 36 matches total in the regular season.[34]
Ranking
| Seasons | 1st place | 2nd place | 3rd place | 4th place | 5th place | 6th place | 7th place | MVP | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024–25 | New Taipei Kings 26–10 |
Formosa Dreamers 21–15 |
Kaohsiung Aquas 19–17 |
Taipei Taishin Mars 16–20 |
Taoyuan Taiwan Beer Leopards 16–20 |
New Taipei CTBC DEA 16–20 |
Hsinchu Toplus Lioneers 12–24 |
Jeremy Lin (Kings) |
[36][37] |
| 2025–26 | Taoyuan Taiwan Beer Leopards 23–13 |
Formosa Dreamers 22–14 |
Hsinchu Toplus Lioneers 22–14 |
New Taipei CTBC DEA 20–16 |
New Taipei Kings 19–17 |
Taipei Taishin Mars 11–25 |
Kaohsiung Aquas 9–27 |
Gao Jin-Wei (Leopards) |
[38][39] |
| 2026–27 | – |
– |
– |
– |
– |
– |
– |
() |
Playoffs
Play-in
The fourth and fifth seeds play the best-of-three play-in series. The fourth seed is awarded a one-win advantage. The winner qualifies to the semifinals series.[34]
| Years | Qualifiers | Result | Eliminated | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Taipei Taishin Mars | 2–1 | Taoyuan Taiwan Beer Leopards | [40] |
| 2026 | New Taipei Kings | 2–1 | New Taipei CTBC DEA | [41] |
Semifinals
The winner of the play-in series and the top three seeds play the best-of-seven semifinals series.[34] The semifinals series changed to a best-of-five series in 2026.[42]
| Years | Qualifiers | Result | Eliminated | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | New Taipei Kings | 4–0 | Taipei Taishin Mars | [43] |
| Kaohsiung Aquas | 4–1 | Formosa Dreamers | [44] | |
| 2026 | Formosa Dreamers | 3–1 | Hsinchu Toplus Lioneers | [45] |
| New Taipei Kings | 3–1 | Taoyuan Taiwan Beer Leopards | [46] |
Finals
The winners of the semifinals series play the best-of-seven finals series.[34]
| Years | Champions | Result | Runners-up | FMVP | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | New Taipei Kings (1) | 4–3 | Kaohsiung Aquas | Jeremy Lin (Kings) | [23][47] |
| 2026 | Formosa Dreamers (1) | 4–3 | New Taipei Kings | Ben Bentil (Dreamers) | [31][48] |
Broadcast partners
Mottos
See also
Note
- The news reported that the Southeast Asia basketball team would be Singapore national team.[2]