# 2023 ABL Invitational

The 2023 ABL Invitational was an invitational tournament held by the ASEAN Basketball League. The elimination round tipped off on 2 January in Singapore, before moving to 3 other host countries. The tournament ended with the finals played from 3 to 15 March. The 2023 Invitational featured eight teams from the region.
Intended to signify the return of the ABL, it ended up being the last tournament the league held before FIBA dropped support for the league, leaving its future uncertain.

## Teams
### Personnel

| Team | Head coach |
| Cooly Bangkok Tigers | Jakkraphan Chupthaisong |
| Hong Kong Eastern | Željko Pavličević |
| Louvre Surabaya | Jomar Tierra |
| Macau Black Bears | Charles Dubé-Brais |
| NS Matrix Deers | Jeff Viernes |
| Saigon Heat | Matthew Van Pelt |
| Singapore Slingers | Neo Beng Siang |
| Zamboanga Valientes | Expedito De Los Santos |

### Imports

All teams can register a maximum of 3 foreigners and 1 heritage player. The salary cap for the foreign players is set at US$ 20,000 per month.
| Team | Import 1 | Import 2 | Import 3 | Heritage player | Former imports |
| Bangkok Tigers | William Vedder Freeman | Augustus Stone | Jose Nouchanthavong | | Arizona Reid Jermale Jones Lloyd Burgess Alexander Osmand Smith |
| Hong Kong Eastern | O'Darien Bassett | Chris McLaughlin | Tonny Trocha-Morelos | Dominic Gilbert | |
| Louvre Surabaya | Marcus Hammonds | Alioune Tew | Jamarr Johnson | Ebrahim Enguio Lopez | Sameen Swint |
| Macau Black Bears | Isaiah Wade | D'Angelo Hamilton | Dequan Abrom | | Winston Shepard |
| NS Matrix Deers | Amir Williams | Tevin Glass | Isaiah Williams | Wong Zhong Han | Henry Iloka |
| Saigon Heat | Jeremy Combs | Evan Gilyard | Jairus Holder | Hassan Thomas | |
| Singapore Slingers | Xavier Alexander | CJ Gettys | Kentrell Barkley | | |
| Zamboanga Valientes | Mohamed Sesay | Mario Chalmers | Renaldo Balkman | Jeremy Arthur | Will Deng Ryan Smith Antonio Hester |

## Elimination round

The invitational tournament had a new format compared to previous seasons. There will be four rolling tournaments before the lead up to best-of-three semi-finals and finals. At the end of the four tournaments, each team would have played one another twice, and a total of 14 matches. The top four teams would advance to the semi-finals. The second leg will be in Batam, Indonesia, third leg in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and the fourth leg in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. The semi final and final will be held also in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

### Tournaments

| Leg | Venue | Venue | Venue | Date |
| Leg | Location | Arena | Capacity | Date |
| 1 | Kallang, Singapore | OCBC Arena | 3,000 | 2–8 January |
| 2 | Batam, Indonesia | Hi-Test Arena | 1,200 | 12–18 January |
| 3 | Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia | MABA Stadium | 2,500 | 3–8 February |
| 4 | Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam | Nguyễn Du Indoor Stadium | 2,100 | 12–17 February |
| Playoffs and final | Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam | Nguyễn Du Indoor Stadium | 2,100 | 6–14 March |

### Standings

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Saigon Heat | 14 | 11 | 3 | 1225 | 1024 | +201 | 25 | Advances to playoffs |
| 2 | Hong Kong Eastern | 14 | 10 | 4 | 1131 | 953 | +178 | 24 | Advances to playoffs |
| 3 | NS Matrix Deers | 14 | 10 | 4 | 1215 | 1061 | +154 | 24 | Advances to playoffs |
| 4 | Singapore Slingers | 14 | 9 | 5 | 1320 | 1129 | +191 | 23 | Advances to playoffs |
| 5 | Macau Black Bears | 14 | 7 | 7 | 1139 | 1078 | +61 | 21 | |
| 6 | Zamboanga Valientes | 14 | 7 | 7 | 1183 | 1172 | +11 | 21 | |
| 7 | Louvre Surabaya | 14 | 1 | 13 | 990 | 1449 | −459 | 15 | |
| 8 | Cooly Bangkok Tigers | 14 | 1 | 13 | 1077 | 1414 | −337 | 15 | |
* 1 2 Head-to-head: Eastern 1–1 (+6) NS Matrix
* 1 2 Head-to-head: Macau 1–1 (+2) Zamboanga
* 1 2 Head-to-head: Louvre 1–1 (+23) Bangkok

### Results

| Team | BKT | HKE | LOU | MBB | NSM | SGH | SGS | ZAV |
| Cooly Bangkok Tigers | — | 66–75 | 88–84 | 64–94 | 86–96 | 73–89 | 74–121 | 80–84 |
| Hong Kong Eastern | 94–63 | — | 109–64 | 67–71 | 70–75 | 71–84 | 85–83 | 65–71 |
| Louvre Surabaya | 124–97 | 50–101 | — | 59–93 | 67–104 | 35–97 | 83–138 | 69–83 |
| Macau Black Bears | 109–85 | 75–81 | 87–74 | — | 75–65 | 70–79 | 81–88 | 90–78 |
| NS Matrix Deers | 117–78 | 62–73 | 89–51 | 73–54 | — | 84–88 | 88–79 | 98–88 |
| Saigon Heat | 98–81 | 82–89 | 108–47 | 84–76 | 86–96 | — | 71–68 | 75–71 |
| Singapore Slingers | 111–69 | 52–68 | 147–89 | 89–82 | 84–82 | 84–83 | — | 79–87 |
| Zamboanga Valientes | 118–73 | 55–83 | 108–94 | 92–82 | 82–86 | 79–101 | 87–97 | — |

## Bracket

| Semifinals (Best-of-three playoff) | Semifinals (Best-of-three playoff) | Semifinals (Best-of-three playoff) | Finals (Best-of-three playoff) | Finals (Best-of-three playoff) | Finals (Best-of-three playoff) |
| 1 | Saigon Heat | 2 | | | |
| 4 | Singapore Slingers | 1 | | | |
| 4 | Singapore Slingers | 1 | 1 | Saigon Heat | 1 |
| | | | 2 | Hong Kong Eastern | 2 |
| 2 | Hong Kong Eastern | 2 | 2 | Hong Kong Eastern | 2 |
| 3 | NS Matrix Deers | 0 | | | |

## Semi-finals

The semi-final is a best-of-three series with game 3 being played if necessary.

### (1) Saigon Heat vs. (4) Singapore Slingers

* 6 March 2023 8:00 p.m.
* Boxscore
| Saigon Heat | 82–94 | Singapore Slingers |
| Scoring by quarter: 20–18, 24–29, 20–19, 18–28 |||
| Pts: Gilyard 24 Rebs: Thomas 9 Asts: Combs 7 | | Pts: Gettys 24 Rebs: Gettys 12 Asts: Alexander 5 |
* Nguyễn Du Indoor Stadium Referees: Yong Sern Tee (MAS), Joenard Garcia (PHI), Mok Ho Yuen (HKG)
* 8 March 2023 8:00 p.m.
* Boxscore
| Singapore Slingers | 79–81 (OT) | Saigon Heat |
| Scoring by quarter: 19–20, 25–19, 12–15, 16–18, Overtime: 7–9 |||
| Pts: Gettys 31 Rebs: Gettys 20 Asts: Alexander 6 | | Pts: Gilyard, Holder 20 each Rebs: Combs 13 Asts: Combs, Gilyard 5 each |
* Nguyễn Du Indoor Stadium Referees: Chan Owe Shiong (MAS), Joenard Garcia (PHI), Mok Ho Yuen (HKG)
* 9 March 2023 7:30 p.m.
* Boxscore
| Saigon Heat | Singapore Slingers |
| Scoring by quarter: 18–21, 24–15, 22–26, 22–23 |||
| Pts: Combs 25 Rebs: Thomas 12 Asts: Gilyard 9 | Pts: Gettys 25 Rebs: Barkley 13 Asts: Alexander, Goh 5 |
| Heat wins series 2–1 |||
* Nguyễn Du Indoor Stadium Referees: Chan Owe Shiong (MAS), Jontapa Nattapong (THA), Harry Santos (PHI)

### (2) Hong Kong Eastern vs. (3) NS Matrix Deers

* 6 March 2023 6:00 p.m.
* Boxscore
| Hong Kong Eastern | 76–51 | NS Matrix Deers |
| Scoring by quarter: 14–13, 21–9, 17–16, 24–13 |||
| Pts: Bassett 17 Rebs: Mclaughlin 16 Asts: Bassett 7 | | Pts: Glass 14 Rebs: Amir 16 Asts: Williams 3 |
* Nguyễn Du Indoor Stadium Referees: Rendra Lesmana (INA), Harry Santos (PHI), Neo Kai Chong (SIN)
* 8 March 2023 6:00 p.m.
* Boxscore
| NS Matrix Deers | Hong Kong Eastern |
| Scoring by quarter: 18–12, 14–19, 19–22, 19–23 |||
| Pts: Amir 26 Rebs: Glass 15 Asts: Glass 6 | Pts: Gilbert 26 Rebs: Mclaughlin 20 Asts: Bassett, Morelos 4 |
| Eastern wins series 2–0 |||
* Nguyễn Du Indoor Stadium Referees: Jontapa Nattapong (THA), Rendra Lesmana (INA), Neo Kai Chong (SIN)

## Final: (1) Saigon Heat vs. (2) Hong Kong Eastern

The final is a best-of-three series with game 3 being played if necessary.
* 11 March 2023 5:00 p.m.
* Boxscore
| Saigon Heat | 73–89 | Hong Kong Eastern |
| Scoring by quarter: 20–14, 20–27, 14–26, 19–22 |||
| Pts: Gilyard 20 Rebs: Thomas 11 Asts: Gilyard 4 | | Pts: Gilbert 24 Rebs: Mclaughlin 11 Asts: Gilbert 5 |
* Nguyễn Du Indoor Stadium Referees: Preeda Muongmee (THA), Chan Owe Shiong (MAS), Rendra Lesmana (INA)
* 12 March 2023 5:00 p.m.
* Boxscore
| Hong Kong Eastern | 70–88 | Saigon Heat |
| Scoring by quarter: 28–19, 9–19, 20–21, 13–29 |||
| Pts: Morelos 20 Rebs: Mclaughlin 13 Asts: Bassett, Chan, Mclaughlin 4 each | | Pts: Gilyard 41 Rebs: Combs 8 Asts: Combs 8 |
* Nguyễn Du Indoor Stadium Referees: Preeda Muongmee (THA), Chan Owe Shiong (MAS), Harry Santos (PHI)
* 14 March 2023 7:30 p.m.
* Boxscore
| Saigon Heat | Hong Kong Eastern |
| Scoring by quarter: 9–24, 17–12, 17–18, 17–19 |||
| Pts: Gilyard 23 Rebs: Gilyard 6 Asts: Gilyard 6 | Pts: Morelos 19 Rebs: Mclaughlin 13 Asts: Bassett 4 |
| Eastern wins series 2–1 |||
* Nguyễn Du Indoor Stadium Referees: Preeda Muongmee (THA), Chan Owe Shiong (MAS), Rendra Lesmana (INA)

## Awards
### Finals awards

* 2023 ABL Champions
* Hong Kong Eastern (2nd title)
* Finals MVP
* Tonny Trocha-Morelos

### End-of-tournament awards

The winners were announced after Game 3 of the 2023 ABL Finals at the Nguyễn Du Indoor Stadium, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
* Defensive Player of the Year: Chris McLaughlin (Hong Kong Eastern)
* Coach of the Year: Željko Pavličević (Hong Kong Eastern)

## Statistical leaders
### Individual leaders

| Category | Player | Club | Average |
| Points | Kentrell Barkley | Singapore Slingers | 26.00 |
| Rebounds | Alioune Tew | Louvre Surabaya | 19.00 |
| Assists | Xavier Alexander | Singapore Slingers | 6.60 |
| Steals | Mario Chalmers | Zamboanga Valientes | 2.40 |
| Blocks | Amir Williams | NS Matrix Deers | 1.90 |