Hong Kong, China, August 24, 2026 – Asian University Basketball League (AUBL), Asia's premier college basketball league spanning the region, recorded major growth in 2026, with its second tournament reaching new highs across livestream viewership, digital impressions and social engagement on platforms across China and worldwide, as well as live attendance at Binjiang Gymnasium in Hangzhou.

Held from Aug. 2 to 11, AUBL26 brought together 12 of Asia's top college basketball teams and crowned a new champion in Shanghai Jiao Tong University, which capped a miraculous run by defeating powerhouses Peking University, Tsinghua University and defending champion NCCU.

The tournament built significantly on AUBL's inaugural 2025 edition, as the league continued to expand the audience and visibility around university basketball in Asia. AUBL26 generated more than 139 million livestream views, a 98 percent increase from 2025, while total online impressions across platforms reached 3.775 billion. More than 50,000 pieces of content mentioning AUBL were published during the tournament, a 901 percent increase from the inaugural season, generating more than 28 million engagements, up 645 percent from 2025. More than 30,000 fans attended AUBL26 games in person, driving a 30 percent increase in ticket revenue.

More than 25 broadcast partners carried the tournament across 15 markets, including Tencent, Coupang Play, U-NEXT, beIN Sports, Cignal and Videoland, with live commentary available in five languages, putting Asia's top college basketball talent in front of a genuinely global audience.

AUBL26 also set a record for sponsorship revenue, doubling from 2025. The league's roster of partners included Yunnan Baiyao, China's No. 1 topical injury relief brand; Tmall, one of the world's largest e-commerce platforms; Master Kong, China's largest beverage brand; and Qwen, Alibaba's AI assistant. They were joined by Under Armour as the AUBL's Official Athletics & Game Ball Partner, along with J.P. Morgan, Care Alliance, and sports equipment manufacturers Avant Sports and Jinling Sports.

The tournament also drew a wave of celebrity guests from the worlds of sports and entertainment, led by AUBL investor and NBA Hall of Famer Yao Ming, UFC world champion Zhang Weili, NBA legends Juwan Howard and Kenyon Martin, current Brooklyn Nets player Day'Ron Sharpe, and Chinese basketball legends Ding Yanyuhang and Yang Ming. Actress and singer Yu Shuxin and actor Li Yunrui also attended, together commanding more than 80 million social media followers.

"What we saw in Hangzhou this year confirmed something we believed from day one, that there is real hunger across Asia for college basketball at this level of competition and storytelling," said Jay Li, AUBL CEO. "We're building a stage for Asia's best college basketball talent to be seen by the entire world, and the numbers prove we're already changing the game for basketball in this region.”

AUBL will introduce a full home and away season format beginning in November, spanning several months and culminating in a championship tournament, with additional details to be announced soon.