KUALA LUMPUR, 28 Sept (Bernama) -- Professional teams from six countries would feature in the inaugural ASEAN Basketball League (ABL) to be held from October to February.
The six teams comprise KL Dragons from Malaysia, Brunei Barracudas (Brunei), Satria Muda Britama (Indonesia), Philippine Patriots (Philippines), Singapore Slingers (Singapore) and Thailand Tigers from Thailand.
Organisers announced today that the opening match between Indonesia's Satria Muda BritAma and the Philippine Patriots would be played in Jakarta on Oct 10.
"For a start, six teams will kick of the ABL, but we are targeting for 20 teams to compete in a few years time.
"Though the number of teams participating in small, we have decided to go ahead and start the league instead of just waiting for other teams to register," said ABL chairman Datuk Seri Tony Fernandes after announcing General Electrics as one of the sponsors for the ABL, here Monday.
Tony said though teams from outside Asean, like Japan and Australia had also expressed interest in the ABL, the target of the ABL was to see all Asean countries being represented in the tournament.
"It has been a long-time dream of mine to unite Asean under a single banner of sports, and with the ABL, it will bring a whole new era on how sports is organised and marketed in this region," said Tony who is also the Air Asia supremo and Team Principal of the Lotus F1 outfit.
He said basketball was a very exciting sport and had vast potential as Asean has a population of more than 600 million.
Meanwhile, KL Dragons owner Datuk Wira Dani Daim said his team has targetted a top four finish and had roped in two players from the United States to beef up the squad.
"We have already signed Jamal Brown and in the midst of getting the services of another player. The rest will be local players while National coach Goh Cheng Huat take charge of the team," he said.
The ABL, similar to the well-known United States' NBA League and the EUROLeague Basketball, would provide the winner an opportunity to compete in the international Basketball Federation (FIBA) competitions.
-- BERNAMA
The six teams comprise KL Dragons from Malaysia, Brunei Barracudas (Brunei), Satria Muda Britama (Indonesia), Philippine Patriots (Philippines), Singapore Slingers (Singapore) and Thailand Tigers from Thailand.
Organisers announced today that the opening match between Indonesia's Satria Muda BritAma and the Philippine Patriots would be played in Jakarta on Oct 10.
"For a start, six teams will kick of the ABL, but we are targeting for 20 teams to compete in a few years time.
"Though the number of teams participating in small, we have decided to go ahead and start the league instead of just waiting for other teams to register," said ABL chairman Datuk Seri Tony Fernandes after announcing General Electrics as one of the sponsors for the ABL, here Monday.
Tony said though teams from outside Asean, like Japan and Australia had also expressed interest in the ABL, the target of the ABL was to see all Asean countries being represented in the tournament.
"It has been a long-time dream of mine to unite Asean under a single banner of sports, and with the ABL, it will bring a whole new era on how sports is organised and marketed in this region," said Tony who is also the Air Asia supremo and Team Principal of the Lotus F1 outfit.
He said basketball was a very exciting sport and had vast potential as Asean has a population of more than 600 million.
Meanwhile, KL Dragons owner Datuk Wira Dani Daim said his team has targetted a top four finish and had roped in two players from the United States to beef up the squad.
"We have already signed Jamal Brown and in the midst of getting the services of another player. The rest will be local players while National coach Goh Cheng Huat take charge of the team," he said.
The ABL, similar to the well-known United States' NBA League and the EUROLeague Basketball, would provide the winner an opportunity to compete in the international Basketball Federation (FIBA) competitions.
-- BERNAMA
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