Australasian Super League?
Sat May 15, 2004 3:30 pm
Interesting article from the Philippine Star today:
What dya think? Will it push through?
In the past decade, there have been a few attempts at an Asian Super League but they all bombed due to lack of interest. But then again, the popularity of hoops in Asia is at its highest ever.
The PBA has finally adopted the FIBA calendar, hoops has been growing steadily in South Korea, the game has suddenly drawn interest in China courtesy of Yao Ming, then you have emerging basketball communities in Japan and Taiwan, the explosion of the hoops scene in Lebanon... etc... this is the perfect time.
Of course its easier said than done. Even with the increased basketball popularity in Asia, basketball still isn't soccer/football so sponsors might still be a bit hesitant, then you have the venue and safety issues, profit-sharing, what rules to use etc...
The proposed creation of an "Australasian super league" gathered steam yesterday as the top official of the National Basketball League (NBL) of Australia welcomed the idea broached by Philippine Basketball Association commissioner Noli Eala.
NBL commissioner Rick Burton gave his nod to the proposed league, which could start with a tri-nation tournament among the Philippines, Australia and South Korea by September next year, in an e-mail to Eala.
"We’re open to suggestion about a concept that has been around for quite sometime now. It is an idea of a league or a conference that combines teams from Asia and Australia," said Burton.
"The CBA (Chinese Basketball Association), PBA, KBL (Korean Basketball League) and NBL could easily create an impressive platform for TV sponsors, fans and global partners. I hope that our collective vision can succeed in growing our respective leagues and serve the greater good of basketball," Burton added.
Eala was ecstatic on the development of the idea hatched during his talks with recent Manila visitor Ji Chang of the Korean league.
"Mr. Burton wants to have a face -to-face meeting with me to discuss this further," Eala added.
Eala and Chang’s proposal is to initially hold a brief tourney possibly among two teams each from the PBA, KBL and NBL which could eventually expand to include other big players in the region.
What dya think? Will it push through?
In the past decade, there have been a few attempts at an Asian Super League but they all bombed due to lack of interest. But then again, the popularity of hoops in Asia is at its highest ever.
The PBA has finally adopted the FIBA calendar, hoops has been growing steadily in South Korea, the game has suddenly drawn interest in China courtesy of Yao Ming, then you have emerging basketball communities in Japan and Taiwan, the explosion of the hoops scene in Lebanon... etc... this is the perfect time.
Of course its easier said than done. Even with the increased basketball popularity in Asia, basketball still isn't soccer/football so sponsors might still be a bit hesitant, then you have the venue and safety issues, profit-sharing, what rules to use etc...
Sat May 15, 2004 3:47 pm
Sounds alright, but the NBL needs to focus on increasing its own popularity before they branch out into such a venture. Basketball isn't given enough respect in Australia; I don't think there's enough interest for an international super league just yet.
But for those of us who do love basketball, it would be pretty cool.
But for those of us who do love basketball, it would be pretty cool.