ABL: Showcase for Filipino talent

This early, the ASEAN Basketball League is realizing the fanaticism of Filipinos for basketball. The hugely successful launch this week shows the clear intent of the organizers and team owners to make the league big. Deals are already being hammered out with ESPN to provide regional coverage.

A broadcast team is already being assembled by the team owners (some of whom are also television network owners in other member countries) in other member countries, with the help of ABC 5.

In a dinner Wednesday night, the team officials also started to see how much bigger an impact the ABL would have if it tapped more into the intense love for the game here in the Philippines. Of course, the Philippine Patriots will likely have retired icons like Johnny Abarrientos and possibly Vergel Meneses and others in their roster.

But, as the team owners conversed, they acknowledged that the fledgling league would also need certain advantages of the Philippines to help give it an early boost.

The original opening card on Oct. 10 was supposed to be played in Singapore, but it seems probable that it will be moved to the Philippines, instead, to draw a bigger crowd.

Initially, the teams agreed on having two non-Asians (most likely Americans) as imports and three other players from within South East Asia. Now, though, the consensus is that perhaps each team might want to have two Filipino players in its lineup, instead.

“We’re very excited about these developments,” said Patriots co-owner Mikee Romero. “We will be able to give jobs to our fellow Filipinos, and at the same time provide them an opportunity to show their skills internationally.”

Brunei is also inquiring if they could have more than two Filipinos on their team, since they will have some catching up to do, talent-wise.

Other countries are mulling the hiring of Filipino coaches to impart their relatively advanced knowledge of the game.

“I have had Filipino coaches on my commercial teams for years now,” says Erick Thohir, the Indonesian team owner and president of the South East Asia Basketball Association or SEABA. “We’ve had experienced coaches like Nat Canson and Boycie Zamar teach our players a lot.”

The most common question is the sustainability of the league. Romero says there is little to worry about, because the team owners have shown not only their willingness, but more importantly, their capability, to spend on competitive teams.

“We were surprised that at the press conference, they had even flown in their own press contingents,” Romero elaborated. “These are big players in business in the region. And they all want to do well. I don’t think any of them would like losing.”

So far, even the broadcast team is set to have a largely Filipino color.

“The owners were considering having an all-Filipino announcers’ pool, because English will be the language used for ESPN’s broadcasts,” says ABC 5 president Bobby Barreiro. “We proposed having the more senior TV panel members be Filipino, and help announcers from other countries learn from them, since basketball is really our number one sport.”

All this is great news for the Philippines, which will get even more recognition for its all-around passion for the sport of basketball.