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. Notably, 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 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.

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.

Championships

SeasonHostChampionResultRunner-upArena
2008–09Bulgaria SamokovBulgaria Rilski Sportist84–77North Macedonia Feršped RabotničkiArena Samokov
2009–10Bulgaria SofiaBulgaria Levski Sofia77–65Montenegro LovćenUniversiada Hall
2010–11North Macedonia KavadarciNorth Macedonia Feni Industries88–75Bulgaria Rilski SportistJasmin Sports Hall
2011–12Israel Gan NerIsrael Hapoel Gilboa Galil89–84Bulgaria Levski SofiaGan Ner Sports Hall
2012–13Bulgaria SamokovIsrael Hapoel Gilboa Galil87–79Bulgaria Levski SofiaArena Samokov
2013–14Kosovo PristinaBulgaria Levski Sofia75–69Israel Hapoel Gilboa GalilPallati i Rinisë dhe Sporteve
2014–15Kosovo PristinaBulgaria SamokovKosovo Sigal Prishtina74−7280–71Bulgaria Rilski SportistPallati i Rinisë dhe SporteveArena Samokov
2015–16Kosovo PristinaMontenegro BarKosovo Sigal Prishtina82−6868−75Montenegro MornarPallati i Rinisë dhe SporteveSportska dvorana Topolica
2016–17Bulgaria Stara ZagoraNorth Macedonia KumanovoBulgaria Beroe84−5577−73North Macedonia KumanovoObshtinska zala Ivan VazovSports Hall Kumanovo
2017–18Bulgaria SamokovBulgaria Levski Sofia83−72Kosovo BashkimiArena Samokov
2018–19Albania TiranaNorth Macedonia Blokotehna82–68Albania TeutaFeti Borova Sport Hall
2019–20Cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic
2020–21Israel HolonIsrael Hapoel Holon91–75Bulgaria Academic PlovdivHolon Toto Hall
2021–22Israel NahariyaIsrael Hapoel Galil Elyon86–70Israel Maccabi HaifaEin Sara Sport Hall
2022–23Bulgaria Stara ZagoraIsrael Hapoel Be'er Sheva/Dimona99−95Kosovo PejaObshtinska zala Ivan Vazov
2023-24Cyprus LimassolKosovo Sigal Prishtina72−67Cyprus PAYABL EKA AELNicos Solomonides Arena
2024–25 and 2025-26Cancelled due to War in Israel

Titles by club

ClubChampionshipsRunner-upsChampionship years
1Kosovo Sigal Prishtina3—2014–15, 2015–16, 2023−24
2Bulgaria Levski Sofia322009–10, 2013–14, 2017–18
3Israel Hapoel Gilboa Galil212011–12, 2012–13
4Bulgaria Rilski Sportist122008–09
5North Macedonia Feni Industries1—2010–11
Bulgaria Beroe2016–17
North Macedonia Blokotehna2018–19
Israel Hapoel Holon2020–21
Israel Hapoel Galil Elyon2021–22
Israel Hapoel Be'er Sheva/Dimona2022–23
10North 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

CountryChampionshipsRunner-upsChampionship years
1Bulgaria552008–09, 2009–10, 2013–14, 2016–17, 2017–18
2Israel522011–12, 2012–13, 2020–21, 2021–22, 2022–23
3Kosovo322014–15, 2015-16, 2023–24
4North Macedonia222011-12, 2018-19
5Montenegro—2
6Albania—1
7Cyprus—1

Clubs (2023-24 season)

TeamArenaCapacityCountry
AEL Limassol B.C.Nicos Solomonides Arena2,500Limassol, CYP
Sigal PrishtinaPallati I Rinise Dhe Sportheve2,800Pristina, KOS
KK Lovćen 1947Sportski Center Cetinje1,500Lovćen, MNE
KK PljevljaSport Cener Ada3,500Pljevlja, MNE
KB PejaKarakaci Arena2,500Peja, KOS

External links