The Singapore Slingers announced on its official website on Monday (November 20) that the 14-year-old ASEAN Basketball League (ABL) may be suspended.
According to the official website of the Singapore Soaring Lions Basketball Team, the ABL learned from the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) that the league is not in line with FIBA’s future basketball development blueprint in the region. FIBA will selectively support FIBA in different regions. League development.
This clear instruction from FIBA basically announced that the suspension of the ABL is a foregone conclusion.
It is reported that in order to allow the league to continue, the ABL has been trying to negotiate with FIBA for the past two years, but has never achieved a satisfactory result to both parties.
In response to Lianhe Zaobao’s inquiry, Singapore Basketball Association President To Teck Yan said that the ABL and Singapore Soaring Lions have played an important role in the development of local basketball over the years. “They have opened many doors for aspiring young players to make this sport a success.” Professionalization provides them with a high-level competitive platform and also improves the level of domestic competition.”
He also said: “The Singapore Basketball Federation is working closely with the Singapore Sports Council and FIBA to prepare some new plans to help players continue to compete at a high level. Our main goal has not changed, and that is to ensure that we have Aspiring athletes continue to have good opportunities to compete at a high level.”
Sports Council: Willing to provide assistance to affected players
A spokesman for the Singapore Sports Council said this was a commercial decision by the organizers. The Council is willing to provide assistance to affected players, including allowing them to participate in the National Registry of Coaches scheme. The spokesman said: “ActiveSG Basketball Academy will continue to involve our national team players in the program, helping new students learn from their experiences and receive guidance.”
Singapore Soaring Lions wrote on its official website: “We believe that the goodwill of fans, retired or current players, and the younger generation who have learned about basketball through Soaring Lions still exists. The owners and management of Soaring Lions We would also like to sincerely thank all members and fans for their support over the past 17 years.”
The ASEAN Basketball League was established in 2009 and is the first professional basketball league in ASEAN countries. The season runs from November to April of the following year. In the early stages of the league, there were only six participating teams until it expanded to 10 teams in 2019. From 2020 to 2022, the league was suspended due to the coronavirus epidemic. Singapore Soaring Lions won three runner-up places and four third-place finishes in the league.
2023-11-20 14:27:48
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