The Syrian Basketball League (Arabic: الدوري السوري لكرة السلة), officially Syriatel Basketbal League, is the top-tier professional men's basketball league in Syria. It is organized annually as a national championship with playoffs and a national cup by the Syrian Basketball Federation. Both Aleppo teams, Jalaa SC and Al-Ittihad SC, dominated the league until 1993.[1]
| Organising body | Syrian Basketball Federation |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1956 |
| First season | 1956–1957 |
| Country | Syria |
| Confederation | FIBA Asia (Asia) West Asia Basketball Association (West Asia) |
| Number of teams | 12 |
| Level on pyramid | 1 |
| Relegation to | Division 2 |
| Domestic cup(s) | Syrian Basketball Cup |
| Supercup | Syrian Super Cup |
| International cup(s) | Basketball Champions League Asia FIBA West Asia Super League Arab Club Basketball Championship |
| Current champions | Al Wahda (11th title) (2023) |
| Most championships | Jalaa SC (29 titles) |
| TV partners | Syria TV |
| Website | www.syrbf.org |
 2023–24 season | |
History
edit
Jalaa SC, previously known as Shabibeh, dominated the league from 1956 until 1978. Then another team from Aleppo, Al-Ittihad SC, took all the titles until 1993.[2] Later on, Damascus clubs Al Wahda and Al-Jaish SC won some titles sporadically.[3] In 2021, for the first time in SBL history, the league was won by a club from the city of Homs, Al-Karamah SC.[4]
Sponsorship
editAs of 2022, the league's main partners are Sinalco,[5] Syriatel, Cham Wings Airlines, Sama TV and Syria TV.
Competition format
edit
The SBL is played by the international FIBA rules. Since 2020–21 the SBL season has a new format. In the regular season, all teams play each other first home and away.[6]
Based on the order in the first round, the top four teams play the playoff system.[7] The semi-final consists of a series played in the twice-to-beat format of the best team with the worst and the second with the third of four.[7]
The final is played in the format of two advancing semi-finalists in a series of three winning matches in the best of five format.[8]
Promotion and relegation
editThe two worst teams relegate at the end of the season and the two best teams in Division 2 advance to the league.[6]
Current clubs
edit
| Team | City | Venue |
|---|---|---|
| Jalaa SC | Aleppo | Al-Assad Sports Arena |
| Al-Ittihad SC | Aleppo | Al-Hamadaniah Sports Arena |
| Al-Hurriya SC | Aleppo | Al-Assad Sports Arena |
| Al-Jaish SC | Damascus | Al-Fayhaa Arena |
| Al Wahda SC | Damascus | Al-Fayhaa Arena |
| Al-Fayhaa | Damascus | Al-Fayhaa Arena |
| Al-Thawra SC | Damascus | Al-Fayhaa Arena |
| Al-Karamah SC | Homs | Ghazwan Abu Zaid Arena |
| Al-Wathba SC | Homs | Ghazwan Abu Zaid Arena |
| Al-Nawair SC | Hama | Naseh al-Wani Arena |
| Al-Taliya SC | Hama | Naseh al-Wani Arena |
| Huteen SC | Latakia | Latakia Sports Arena |
Title holders
edit| Season | Champion |
|---|---|
| 1956–57, 1957–58, 1958–59, 1959–60, 1960–61, 1961–62, 1962–63, 1963–64, 1964–65, 1965–66, 1966–67, 1967–68, 1968–69, 1969–70, 1970–71, 1971–72, 1972–73, 1973–74, 1974–75, 1975–76, 1976–77, 1977–78, 1978–79 | Jalaa SC |
| 1979–80, 1980–81, 1981–82, 1982–83, 1983–84, 1984–85, 1985–86, 1986–87, 1987–88, 1988–89, 1989–90, 1990–91, 1991–92, 1992–93 | Al-Ittihad SC |
| 1993–94 | Al Wahda |
| 1994–95 | Al-Ittihad SC |
| 1995–96 | Al-Ittihad SC |
| 1996–97 | Al Wahda |
| 1997–98 | Al Wahda |
| 1998–99 | Al Wahda |
| 1999–00 | Al-Ittihad SC |
| 2000–01 | Al Wahda |
| 2001–02 | Al Wahda |
| 2002–03 | Al Wahda |
| 2003–04 | Al-Jaish SC |
| 2004–05 | Al-Jaish SC |
| 2005–06 | Al-Ittihad SC |
| 2006–07 | Jalaa SC |
| 2007–08 | Jalaa SC |
| 2008–09 | Jalaa SC |
| 2009–10 | Al-Jaish SC |
| 2010–11 | Jalaa SC |
| 2011–12 | Jalaa SC |
| No Championship | |
| 2013–14 | Al Wahda |
| 2014–15 | Al Wahda |
| 2015–16 | Al-Jaish SC |
| 2016–17 | Al-Jaish SC |
| 2017–18 | Al-Jaish SC |
| 2018–19 | Al-Jaish SC |
| Season was suspended at the semi-finals due to COVID-19 pandemic in Syria | |
| 2020–21 | Al-Karamah SC |
| 2021–22 | Al-Ittihad SC |
| 2022–23 | Al Wahda |
| 2023–24 | Al Wahda |
Performances
editFinals
edit| Season | Champions | Score | Runners-up | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003–04 | Al-Jaish | No play-offs | Jalaa | |||||
| 2004–05 | Al-Jaish | No play-offs | Jalaa | |||||
| 2005–06 | Al-Ittihad | No play-offs | Jalaa | |||||
| 2006–07 | Jalaa | 2–0 | Al-Ittihad | |||||
| 2007–08 | Jalaa | No play-offs | Al-Jaish | |||||
| 2008–09 | Jalaa | 3–0 | Al-Jaish | |||||
| 2009–10 | Al-Jaish | 2–1 | Jalaa | |||||
| 2010–11 | Jalaa | 3–0 | Al-Jaish | |||||
| 2011–12 | Jalaa | 2–0 | Al-Ittihad | |||||
| 2012–13 | No Championship | |||||||
| 2013–14 | Al-Wahda | 1–0 | Al-Ittihad | |||||
| 2014–15 | Al-Wahda | 2–1 | Al-Ittihad | |||||
| 2015–16 | Al-Jaish | 3–0 | Al-Karamah | |||||
| 2016–17 | Al-Jaish | No play-offs | — | |||||
| 2017–18 | Al-Jaish | No play-offs | — | |||||
| 2018–19 | Al-Jaish | 3–1 | Jalaa | |||||
| 2019–20 | No Championship | |||||||
| 2020–21 | Al-Karamah | 2–1 | Al-Wahda | |||||
| 2021–22 | Al-Ittihad | 3–0 | Al-Karamah | |||||
| 2022–23 | Al-Wahda | 3–0 | Al-Ittihad | |||||
| 2023–24 | Al-Wahda | 4–0 | Al-Karamah | |||||
Performance by club
edit| Club | Winners | Winning years |
|---|---|---|
| Jalaa SC | 28 | 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1964, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012 |
| Al-Ittihad SC | 19 | 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2006, 2022 |
| Al Wahda | 11 | 1994, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2014, 2015, 2023, 2024 |
| Al-Jaish SC | 7 | 2004, 2005, 2010, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 |
| Al-Karamah SC | 1 | 2021 |
Performance by city
edit| City | Winners | Club(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Aleppo | 47 | Jalaa SC, Al-Ittihad SC |
| Damascus | 18 | Al Wahda, Al-Jaish SC |
| Homs | 1 | Al-Karamah SC |
Women's league
edit| Team | City | Venue |
|---|---|---|
| Al-Jalaa SC | Aleppo | Al-Jalaa Arena |
| Al-Ittihad SC | Aleppo | Al-Assad Sports Arena |
| Ouroube SC | Aleppo | Al-Yarmouk Arena |
| Al-Thawra SC | Damascus | Al-Fayhaa Arena |
| Al-Wahda SC | Damascus | Al-Fayhaa Arena |
| Barada SC | Damascus | Al-Fayhaa Arena |
| Qasioun SC | Damascus | Al-Fayhaa Arena |
| Tishreen SC | Latakia | Latakia Sports Arena |
| Muhardeh SC | Muhardeh | Muhardeh Arena |
| Al-Sahel SC | Tartous | Basel al-Assad Arena |
References
edit- ^ "Al Jalaa, History". asia-basket. Retrieved 20 December 2021.
- ^ "Al-Ittihad, History". asia-basket. Retrieved 20 December 2021.
- ^ "Al Wahda, History". asia-basket. Retrieved 20 December 2021.
- ^ "Al-Karamah Homs, History". asia-basket. Retrieved 6 January 2022.
- ^ Sinalco Syria
- ^ a b "Syrian Basketball League, season 2020-2021". goalzz.com. Retrieved 15 January 2022.
- ^ a b "Syrian Basketball League, season 2020-2021– Play-off". goalzz.com. Retrieved 15 January 2022.
- ^ "Syrian Basketball League, season 2020-2021 Final". goalzz.com. Retrieved 15 January 2022.
- ^ "Division I – Round 3: Al Huryieh lose to Al Jalaa". asia-basket.com. Retrieved 18 December 2021.
- ^ "SBL Standings". asia-basket.com. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
- ^ "Women League (Season 2021-22)". asia-basket.com. Retrieved 6 January 2022.
- ^ "Syrian Women Basketball League". goalzz.com. Retrieved 14 January 2022.