Balkan International Basketball League
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 that features mostly clubs from the Balkans. The league included teams from countries as Bulgaria, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Kosovo, Cyprus and Israel. The most recent league champion is Sigal Prishtina from Kosovo.
| Current season, competition or edition: 2023–24 BIBL season | |
BIBL Official Logo | |
| Sport | Basketball |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2008 |
| No. of teams | Variable by season |
| Countries | Current countries Bulgaria Cyprus Israel Kosovo Montenegro North Macedonia Former countries |
| Continent | FIBA Europe (Europe) |
| Most recent champion(s) | Sigal Prishtina (3rd title) |
| Most titles | Sigal Prishtina (3 titles) |
| TV partner(s) | RIK 2 sportmedia.tv YouTube RTSH |
| Official website | balkanleague.net |
The purpose of the Balkan International Basketball League is to provide competitive international play for clubs in the Balkans that would otherwise be unable to participate in international basketball. The league achieves this by providing financial support to all participating clubs in order to ease the costs that make international play difficult.[1] Among other milestones, the league is also the first international league of its kind to include teams from Kosovo.
Format
After the 2017–2018 season, the Balkan International Basketball League introduced a new, simplified competition format. Under this format, the competition now typically features a total of between 6 – 8 teams and the tournament is divided into two phases: the regular season, whereby all participating teams will play each other in a double round robin both home and away and following the regular season's conclusion, the first and second placed teams will automatically qualify to the Final Four, whereas the third placed team will have to play the sixth placed team and the fourth will play the fifth at home and away to determine which team will advance to the Final Four. After this, the winning teams will advance to the final four to determined that season's BIBL Balkan League champions.[2]
Additionally, at the start of the 2020–2021 season, 12 teams from Israel participated in the league in order to have access to competitive games during the COVID-19 pandemic.[3]
Championships
Titles by club
| Club | Championships | Runner-ups | Championship years | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sigal Prishtina | 3 | — | 2014–15, 2015–16, 2023−24 |
| 2 | Levski Sofia | 3 | 2 | 2009–10, 2013–14, 2017–18 |
| 3 | Hapoel Gilboa Galil | 2 | 1 | 2011–12, 2012–13 |
| 4 | Rilski Sportist | 1 | 2 | 2008–09 |
| 5 | Feni Industries | 1 | — | 2010–11 |
| Beroe | 2016–17 | |||
| Blokotehna | 2018–19 | |||
| Hapoel Holon | 2020–21 | |||
| Hapoel Galil Elyon | 2021–22 | |||
| Hapoel Be'er Sheva/Dimona | 2022–23 | |||
| 10 | Feršped Rabotnički | — | 1 | |
| Lovćen | ||||
| Mornar | ||||
| Kumanovo | ||||
| Bashkimi | ||||
| Teuta | ||||
| Academic Plovdiv | ||||
| Maccabi Haifa | ||||
| Peja | ||||
| PAYABL EKA AEL |
Clubs (2023-24 season)
| Team | Arena | Capacity | Country |
|---|---|---|---|
| AEL Limassol B.C. | Nicos Solomonides Arena | 2,500 | Limassol, CYP |
| Sigal Prishtina | Pallati I Rinise Dhe Sportheve | 2,800 | Pristina, KOS |
| KK Lovćen 1947 | Sportski Center Cetinje | 1,500 | Lovćen, MNE |
| KK Pljevlja | Sport Cener Ada | 3,500 | Pljevlja, MNE |
| KB Peja | Karakaci Arena | 2,500 | Peja, KOS |