The Vietnam Student Basketball Tournament is back, sparking excitement among the youth with the orange ball

The Vietnam Collegiate Basketball Championship (VCBC) 2025-2026 is officially back, signifying the start of its second season after the remarkable achievements of the first 2024-2025 season.

Tournament Basketball Vietnam Student 2025-2026 (Vietnam Collegiate Basketball Championship – VCBC) makes its official comeback, marking the second season after the huge success of the first 2024-2025 edition. Organized by New Sports Joint Stock Company and the Vietnam Student Support and Development Center, VCBC is the largest and longest-running student basketball tournament of the year in Vietnam.

This season will take place at Thanh Ha Arena (Thanh Ha Urban Area, Binh Minh Commune, Hanoi) and The Global City (Do Xuan Hop Street, An Khanh Ward, Ho Chi Minh City) with the support of Le Hoang Dan Fund and Masterise Homes, promising an intense competitive atmosphere throughout nearly two months of continuous play.

The northern leg of the 2025-2026 season in Hanoi sees a significant expansion with 24 men’s teams and 16 women’s teams. In the men’s category, teams are divided into 6 groups of 4 teams each; the women’s category is split into 4 groups of 4 teams each.

All teams will enter the qualifying round following a home-and-away round-robin format, running from December 6, 2025, to January 25, 2026, on Fridays and Saturdays each week.

Each match day features up to 8 games, lasting from 2:00 PM to 10:00 PM, creating a vibrant and intense pace true to the nation’s largest student basketball competition. Top-ranking teams will advance to the Play-offs, expected to take place between February and March 2026.

Similarly, the southern leg with 20 men’s teams and 10 women’s teams is scheduled to start 14 days later, from December 19, 2025, to February 8, 2026, in Ho Chi Minh City. Men’s teams are divided into 5 groups of 4 teams each, while the women’s category has 2 groups with 5 teams per group.

Teams will compete in a home-and-away round-robin format concurrently with the northern leg.

A key highlight this season is the new regulation allowing only full-time students enrolled at universities, colleges, and academies located in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City to register for the tournament until it concludes. This is a major change from the first season, which permitted alumni participation, aiming to ensure fairness and a more balanced competitive level among teams.

Additionally, VCBC continues to allow schools to register unlimited professional athletes and foreign students currently studying, but only a maximum of 2 professional or foreign players, or a combination of 1 professional and 1 foreign player, can be on the court simultaneously in each match. This adjustment is seen as a reasonable step to maintain excitement while keeping the competition balanced.

The 2024-2025 season witnessed deserving champions: the men’s team from Hanoi University of Science and Technology Basketball Club and the women’s team from Foreign Trade University. In the new season, the appearance of many debuting teams is creating a promising fresh breeze.

Notably, the men’s team from Foreign Trade University, along with the women’s teams from Hanoi University of Physical Education and Sports and Vietnam National University, Hanoi. In the northern leg alone, the number of participating teams has nearly doubled compared to last season, confirming the growing appeal and strong development of the basketball movement within the student community.

Beyond expansion in scale, VCBC 2025-2026 also makes a special impression by drawing inspiration from the famous Italian painting “The Creation of Adam” as the theme throughout the season. The image of two outstretched arms, fingers nearly touching, symbolizes the aspiration to reach new heights and the spirit of striving to break through toward greater achievements.

That spirit also reflects VCBC’s journey as it expands into the southern region for the first time and aims toward the National Finals expected to be held in May 2026 — a significant milestone compared to the previous season limited to Hanoi.

With these strategic changes, the participation of many new teams, and a strong “stretching forward” spirit, the Vietnam Student Basketball Championship 2025-2026 promises to be the most explosive season ever, continuing to be a major platform nurturing talent and promoting the basketball movement in Vietnam’s student community.

The tournament is supported by Title Sponsor – VNPAY, Gold Sponsor – Li-Ning, Silver Sponsor – Le Hoang Dan Fund, Official Game Ball Sponsor – Stepback Vietnam, Partner Sponsor – Dolce by Wyndham Golden Lake, along with two media partners – VNSport News and Vietnam Basketball.

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