WKBL to Host '2026 International Girls' Basketball Championship' → 16 Teams from Six Nations Compete; "Full-Scale Zone Defense Banned, Local Rules Applied"

*This content was translated by AI.

The Women's Korean Basketball League (WKBL) announced on the 13th that it will hold the '2026 WKBL International Girls' Basketball Championship,' a festival for promising young female basketball players in Asia.

According to the WKBL, the tournament will take place over three days from the 19th to the 21st at the University of Seoul Centennial Hall located in Dongdaemun District, Seoul. First established in 2025, this event has expanded beyond domestic girls' leagues and top-tier competitions into an international exchange platform. This year, the scale has grown further, with 16 teams and approximately 200 young female players from six countries—South Korea, Japan, Chinese Taipei (Taiwan), Mongolia, Hong Kong, and Indonesia—competing fiercely.

As a home-ground tournament, the Korean representative lineup is particularly impressive. Woori Bank, which swept both the U-12 and U-15 divisions at the '22nd WKBL Girls' Basketball Club Championship' held in June, will participate. Joining them are two unified teams under the Korea Elementary School Basketball Association—Korea Unibl and Korea Ponybl—as well as Suwon Jeil Middle School, a traditional powerhouse that swept this year's spring league, Yeon Maeng (Chairman), and the National Youth Sports Festival. A total of five teams will take to the court representing Korean basketball pride.

The strength of overseas participating teams is no less formidable. Japan will send four teams, including Okinawa Ito Minami Elementary School and Okinawa Heart Basketball Club, both defending champions from last year's U-12 and U-15 divisions. Chinese Taipei will field three teams led by Ancheng Elementary School. Meanwhile, prestigious girls' clubs from across Asia—including Mongolia's Tana Erdene, Hong Kong's Arouse Sports Academy, and Indonesia's Rajamantri Basketball Club—will join the competition, promising high-level performances.

The tournament will be divided into two categories: U-15 (under 15 years old) and U-12 (under 12 years old). Participating teams will first go through group-stage preliminaries, followed by a main-round tournament and ranking matches to determine the final champion.

Meanwhile, the WKBL announced that it will apply special local rules during the tournament to ensure the safety of young players in their growth phase and support the development of fundamental basketball skills. Specifically, full-scale zone defense is completely prohibited; only man-to-man defense will be allowed.

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*This content was translated by AI.