VnExpress Youth Basketball Championship is an annual tournament co-organized by VnExpress Newspaper and FPT Online Services Joint Stock Company, with professional advice from the Vietnam Basketball Federation and the companionship of Ziaja.
Organized since 2014, the tournament aims to create a healthy sports playground, spread the love of basketball and contribute to the comprehensive development of teenagers aged 14-18, and is also one of the pioneering tournaments marking a new organizational model in combining sports tournaments and school health care activities, helping to improve physical fitness and foster spirit for children.
Previously, the tournament was started with a leg in Hanoi, taking place from October to December 2025, with the participation of 36 teams, finding two champions, the men's team of Vinschool The Harmony school and the women's team of Phan Dinh Phung High School.
Continuing this journey, the tournament in the Ho Chi Minh City area officially opened from March 2-20, attracting more than 50 applications to participate. After a process of evaluating and selecting applications, the organizers announced 24 teams, including 16 men's teams and 8 women's teams, officially participating in the regional round.
The two champion teams in the Ho Chi Minh City area in the men's and women's categories will compete for the Super Cup with the champion teams from Hanoi.
The qualifying round matches in the Ho Chi Minh City area and the Super Cup of the two regions will take place from April 18 to May 24. The closing and award ceremony will take place at noon on May 24, at the Tan Thuan ward multi-purpose gymnasium, Ho Chi Minh City.
The tournament applies the 5x5 FIBA 2022 basketball rules and has the following regional prize structure: The champion team will receive a cash prize worth 15 million VND, the second-placed team - 10 million, the third-placed team - 7 million VND and the excellent athlete will receive 5 million VND.
In addition, the Super Cup champion team receives a prize of 17 million VND, the second-placed team receives 10 million VND and the best athlete of the Super Cup match receives a prize of 5 million VND. This prize structure is applied to both categories (male & female).
In addition to the matches, the organizers also have accompanying activities to encourage sports spirit and spread a vibrant competitive atmosphere. Among them, there is a training program on school skills and health "Slay Hard, Play Harder - More quality, play more quality" implemented in high schools in Ho Chi Minh City.
The program includes a series of workshops on school health care with the participation of a team of prestigious experts and celebrities, aimed at answering the concerns and worries of high school students in puberty, contributing to helping them grow up healthy and confident. Through this, the organizers create a space to experience sports activities and promote basketball training.
