Six-club pro HOOPs launched: ABL to boost regional basketball

MANILA, Philippines - The ASEAN Basketball League yesterday launched the region’s first commercial league with a home-and-away format put up to develop local talents in the region and at the same time help bridge the gap between the Asian superpowers and those in Southeast Asia.

Six clubs, headed by the Philippine Patriots, will see action in the inaugural season of the league, which came at a time when the Middle Eastern countries have started challenging China’s domination of the sport in Asia following Iran’s title conquest in the recent FIBA-Asia Championship.

No less than ABL chairman Dato Tony Fernandes, entrepreneur and founder of Air Asia, graced the launching of the tournament in elaborate rites at the Renaissance Hotel in Makati City.

“We’re no less than thrilled of this event,” said Fernandes, who was joined by ABL Kuhan Foo and guests of honor Tony Boy Cojuangco of ABC 5 and Lee Chung Han of Tune Group and ABC-5 managing director Bobby Barreiro.

The event is set to unfold tentatively on Oct. 10 in Singapore and would end in January the next year with the Patriots, the Brunei Barracudas, Kuala Lumpur Dragons, Satria Muda BritAma of Indonesia, the Thailand Tigers and the heavily favored Singapore Slingers vying for top honors.

Patriots owner and RP amateur cage godfather Mikee Romero said this is a dream come true for SEA basketball.

“The ABL is a dream for us, this will bring all Southeast Asian countries under one roof and unite against the best in Asia,” said Romero. “We have already taken the first step which is the launching of this event, the second step is to make this league big.”

He added: “We’re happy and excited that we helped ABL become a reality.”

Fellow team owners Erick Thohir (Indonesia), Nadzaty Azma Azeez (Brunei) and Wim Reijnen (Thailand) along with Singapore Slingers’ representative Michael Johnson were also in attendance.

“With what’s happening around us, the ABL is a welcome relief to all Filipinos who love sports. This is a new venue for networking and a perfect vehicle to advertise one’s product,” said Cojuangco.

Also gracing the affair were ABC-5 managing director Bobby Barreiro,

Thohir, who is also president of South East Asian Basketball Association (Seaba) stressed the need for this kind of tournament, saying most of Asean countries, including the Philippines, are now far behind in terms of skills and technical know-how.

“In the 60s, the Philippines is always among the best in Asia, now a lot of other countries are now better than the Philippines. With the ABL, we hope we can bridge the gap,” said Thohir.

The Patriots, who will be coached by Louie Alas, are currently being formed although the likes of former PBA stars Vergel Meneses and Johnny Abarrientos have been mentioned to spearhead the squad.

Also being considered are Virgilio Seriors, Jerwin Gaco and Chico Lanete.

Each team will be allowed to field in a maximum of two international imports or players from outside the Southeast Asia and five reinforcements from within the region.

This early, the five other teams are said to be looking for Filipino players, still considered as the best in the region, to backstop their respective rosters.