Attaporn’s Regular Season MVP award win highlight of losing ABL season for Thailand Tigers

By Les Tan/Red Hoops and Erwin Wong/Red Hoops

Attaporn Lertmalaiporn of the Thailand Tigers was named the winner of the ASEAN Basketball League (ABL) regular season award at the awards night held earlier this year in March 2010.

“Winning the award made me very happy for Thailand and the Tigers,” Attaporn told Red Hoops. “I never thought I would win it. It will help the Thai players in general to show you can make it.”

For the best import award, which was won by Jason Dixon of the Philippine Patriots, the ASEAN players who were brought in as imports in any of the six teams were also in the running. As for the regular season MVP award given to Attaporn, the award was only restricted to locals. Attaporn finished 11th in the league for points per game (14.9) to lead all local players.

The award winners were chosen by a panel made up of ABL technical director Agus A. Mauro and ABL CEO Kuhan Foo.

“The criteria are based on an MVP points format from FIBA that calculates from points, rebounds, assists, etc, that accumulate from all the games the players played,” an ABL spokesperson told Red Hoops.

“He’s very special. He plays maybe a little odd. But that’s what people like,” said Thailand Tigers owner Wim Reijnen at the awards dinner in Kuala Lumpur in early March. “Now of course his stats are also very good. He is a national team player in Thailand but up until October, he was not a professional player. He had some challenges in the beginning, when it was difficult for him, and then we figured it out with him, and I think he did very well. He scored 230 plus points. His free throws were great, 71%, which is high, I would say. And that’s not three or four free throws. I think he had a 100 or so. That’s very good.

Attaporn, who picked up basketball when he was 13, is currently doing a master degree in physical education at Srinakarin Thalawirot Pasanmit University and is in his final year on a full scholarship. Before suiting up for the Tigers, Attaporn played for the Bangkok Bank club and Hi Tech Apparel. He still plays for Hi Tech Apparel when he is not with the Tigers. He also turns out for his university team.

Reijnen said that Attaporn’s award comes from a lot of hard work.

“I’m very happy for him. Extremely happy for him also because of his background which is not the easiest and so he had to work doubly hard to get to this. And now the first season, being a pro, being an MVP of the ABL. His personal background is not easy. He’s not from a middle class or wealthy family and so it’s extra difficult. So he had to work hard to get to university and that’s why he’s not here tonight because he had to play in a university tournament,” said Reijnen.

Reijnen was also confident that Attaporn would return for the second season.

“Absolutely. He’s already said so. 110% that he’s coming back for sure. He actually feels the same way that he adds something to it. I think he’s also a good role model and kids love him. The only unfortunate thing is that he doesn’t speak English. But that’s ok. It’s fine. You don’t need to. Sports is the language and you don’t really need to speak English for what he does. It would be handy, maybe sometimes. He understands but didn’t get enough practise,” said Reijnen.

The award for Attaporn was a highlight of an otherwise forgettable first season in the ABL. The Tigers finished with a 3-12 win-loss record although the team lost seven of those games by six points or less.

A short pre-season was a key reason, said Reijnen.

“We were only able to start the preparations for the season a few weeks before the season. Had a new pro sport, with a brand new team in a new league. Our imports did not do the trick, especially the Filipinos were way under qualified regarding what we needed,” said Reijnen. “Ike was ok regarding rebounds, but lost it regarding free throws at 29%. Chaz also made some great points, but was not consistent enough and also low on free throws (35%). Happy that Nop (Attaporn), Boy (Piyapong Piroon) and J.O. (Ratdech Kruatiwa) helped us to win some games, with Nop and J.O. being nominated for the MVP regular season and Nop winning the MVP award.”

The regular schedule also did not seem to do the Tigers any favours. The squad played eight away games in a 15-game regular season, with four of those in a stretch from November 28th to December 13th, 2009.

“Scheduling was not really in our favour, or any of the new teams (who all played 7 at home and 8 away). Playing 4 games away, followed by 4 at home (including a bye in the middle) did not help either. But it is hard to schedule with all the venues, and on such a short notice. Think this will be better in the next season,” siad Reijnen.

The team also was not helped by a change in head coach nearing the end of the season. Their American coach, Chuck Davission, a former scout with the Los Angeles Lakers of the NBA, left the Tigers after the game against the Singapore Slingers on December 18th, 2010.

“Davisson breached his agreement, furthermore he did not have the international experience we were looking for, and did not adept to the Asian style of coaching a team,” said Reijnen.

The Tigers have also been rocked by online grumblings about players allegedly not getting their salaries. Reijnen declined to comment on this matter for this story, citing confidentiality issues.

Attaporn’s MVP win is certainly one of the few bright sparks in a losing season dogged by player unrest for the Tigers.

Attaporn Stats
- Most points in a game by a local player (23, Oct 18 2009 v Satria Muda)
- Most 20-point games by a local player (5)
- Tied for third place in the league for most 20-point games
- Most games with double-digit points by a local player (12)
- Finished 11th in the league for points per game (14.9), led all local players
- Finished 8th in the league for total points scored (223), led all local players
- Finished tied-11th in the league for field goals made (74), led all local players
- Most field goals made in a game by a local player (9, Oct 18 2009 v Satria Muda)
- Finished 12th in the league for field goals attempted (168), led all local players
- Most field goals attempted in a game by a local player (21, Oct 18 2009 v Satria Muda)
- Finished tied-1st in the league for free throws made (70), led all local players
- Most free throws made in a game by a local player (10, Dec 13 2009 v Dragons)
- Finished tied-3rd in the league for free throws attempted (98), led all local players
- Most free throws attempted in a game by a local player (11, twice)
- 1 of only 4 players in the league to make at least 44% of their field goals and 70% of their free throws
- 1 of only 2 players to shoot 100% from the free throw line in a game with at least 10 attempts (10/10, Dec 13 2009 v Dragons)
- Finished 2nd among local players in total minutes played (402)
- Finished 3rd among local players in minutes per game (26.8)

Categories: ABL News , Front Page News , Tigers

Tags: ABL, MVP, Tigers.