2 new teams join ABL fifth season

MANILA, Philippines - The AirAsia ASEAN Basketball League celebrates its fifth year next month as the premier regional professional basketball league gets going July 15 with two new teams in HiTech Bangkok City and Laskar Dreya South Sumatra squad from Indonesia.

Pioneer teams, the Westports Malaysia Dragons, the Jobstreet.com Singapore Slingers and the Indonesia Warriors and seasoned campaigner Saigon Heat, banner the compact field wtih the Philippines, a former champion, begging off from fielding in a team.

In the five years since the league’s inception, the ABL has accomplished several feats in the region. This included a pro league that ran for an average of six months a year, long term playing contracts for many budding players, regional TV broadcasts, the exciting increase in local talent development from players to coaches, and an even playing field which encouraged supposed lesser basketball nations such as Vietnam and Brunei to beat higher ranked teams from other nations.