RP to join 1st Asean pro league - Romero

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines, through the effort of sportsman Mikee Romero, will take part in the inaugural staging of the Asean Basketball League – a home-and-away tournament tipped to further boost the popularity of the sport in the Southeast Asian region.

Romero has joined forces with ABC-5 owner Tony Boy Cojuangco in forming the Philippine club team in the regional tournament that will be participated in by five other countries.

“This is just an initial step, we hope to expand the league in the near future,” said Romero, who owns a successful team in the PBL, during yesterday’s Scoop sa Kamayan on Padre Faura. “The tournament will not only give new home to our players but will also provide entertainment to Filipinos working in other parts of the region.”

The tournament has unique and interesting format.

Set to kick off on Oct. 1 in Singapore, the event will be played only on weekends to generate crowd support, especially in Singapore where there is a large community of Filipinos.

The composition of the team will be seven locals, two Asian imports, two American or European imports and one local player with a foreign blood – a Fil-Am in the case of the Philippines.

“It’s really exciting since other countries can hire our players as imports,” said Romero. “We can hire players from the PBA, PBL and Liga ng Pilipinas. They can also hire Japanese Koreans and Chinese talents.”

Also taking part in the pilot tournament founded by Malaysian billionaire Tony Fernandez of Air Asia are the Singapore Slingers, Indonesian Britama of Thokir family, Brunei, Malaysia and Thailand.

Aside from Romero, also in the ABL board are Fernandez, top ranking official of the Singapore Sport Council and the owner of the Forbes Asia Magazine.