UP to Represent PH in Expanded AUBL Season, Host Games
The University of the Philippines will carry the country’s flag in the AUBL 2026–27 season, with two home games in Manila and trips to Japan awaiting the Fighting Maroons.
UP is the lone Philippine university in an 18-team field spanning 11 markets, as the Asian University Basketball League introduces a home-and-away Eastern Conference schedule as part of a 54-game season.
The Maroons have been drawn into Group 4 alongside Japan’s Nippon Sport Science University and Nihon University. Each team will face its group opponents twice, once at home and once on the road, with results determining qualification for Championship Week in August 2027.
UP opens its campaign against Nippon Sport Science University in Tokyo on December 27, 2026, at 4 p.m. Philippine time.
The Maroons will then host NSSU on February 12, 2027, at 7 p.m., followed by a Valentine’s Day matchup against Nihon University on February 14 at 5 p.m. Both games are listed for Manila, with the specific venue still to be announced.
UP completes its group schedule at Nihon University in Tokyo on February 21 at 4 p.m. Philippine time.
The four games give the Maroons a chance to test themselves against Japanese university opposition while bringing international collegiate competition to their home supporters.
How the AUBL competition works
The AUBL’s expanded season features two conferences with different paths to the championship stage.
The Eastern Conference consists of 12 universities from China, Japan, Korea, Mongolia and the Philippines, divided into four groups of three. Its home-and-away schedule runs from November 2026 through March 2027, with each team playing four games.
Nine Eastern teams will advance to Championship Week. The top eight teams by record qualify, while defending champion Shanghai Jiao Tong University receives an automatic berth. If Shanghai Jiao Tong finishes among the top eight, the ninth-place team will take the remaining spot.
For UP, qualification therefore depends on its standing across the Eastern Conference, rather than simply winning its three-team group.
Group 1 features Yonsei University, Tsinghua University and Shanghai Jiao Tong University. Group 2 consists of Peking University, Konkuk University and Taiyuan University of Technology, while Group 3 brings together Waseda University, Korea University and Mongolia’s University of Finance and Economics.
The season begins on November 22 with Yonsei hosting Shanghai Jiao Tong, followed by another Yonsei home game against Tsinghua on November 24.
A separate route through Hanoi
The six-team Southern Conference will compete in a single-site tournament in Hanoi, Vietnam, from April 7 to 11, 2027.
Its field includes the University of Sydney, NCCU of Chinese Taipei, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Indonesia’s Perbanas Institute and the City University of Macau. Vietnam’s representative has yet to be announced.
The teams will be divided into two groups of three, with the top two from each group advancing to a Final Four. The tournament’s top three finishers will join the nine Eastern Conference qualifiers at Championship Week.
Southern Conference groupings and the full game schedule will be released later.
The road to Championship Week
The 12 qualifiers will converge for Championship Week from August 16 to 22, 2027, with group play followed by a single-elimination knockout stage. The host venue has not yet been specified.
The AUBL, which launched in 2025 and is sanctioned by the Asian University Sports Federation, describes the new season as the first home-and-away competition in Asian college basketball. That format applies specifically to the Eastern Conference, with the Southern Conference retaining a centralized tournament.
“This is a landmark moment for university basketball in Asia,” AUBL CEO Jay Li said in the league’s announcement.
“For the first time, the continent’s best college teams will be tested home and away, and that changes everything.”
For the Fighting Maroons, the route to August starts in Tokyo this December. Their February home stand will then bring that pursuit to Manila, where UP supporters will get two opportunities to watch the Philippines’ representative take on international opposition.
