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)

After an impressive outing with the Singapore Slingers, Al Vergara is making a return stint to the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA).

Vergara, who was the chief playmaker of the Slingers during the recent ASEAN Basketball League (ABL) season, has made the final roster of the Barako Energy Coffee Masters in time for the upcoming 2010 PBA Fiesta Conference set for this Sunday at the Araneta Coliseum.

The 5-foot-7 guard averaged 9.4 points, 2.9 rebounds and 3.3 assists as he helped the Slingers gain the league’s second-best record after the regular season with a 10-5 card. Unfortunately, the Slingers were booted out by Indonesia’s Satria Muda BritAma in a best-of-three semi-final clash.

But his stint with the Singaporean side earned him the attention of the Filipino-based ball club, which was coming off a disappointing 3-15 record in the Philippine Cup but was able to beat powerhouse team Talk N’ Text during the middle portion of the conference.

Vergara is one of four new players on the Barako roster as the team also signed up cagers from the ABL champion Philippine Patriots in Rob Wainwright, rugged forward Jerwin Gaco and guard Christian Coronel.

Vergara and Coronel, who played backup to Patriots starter and ABL Finals MVP Warren Ybanez during the recent season, and holdover Paolo Hubalde are expected to share minutes at the point guard spot.

Coincidentally, the addition of the three new players plus Vergara came after Barako Coffee agreed to a deal that will have Harbour Centre, owned by the Patriots’ Mikee Romero, as the team’s sponsor.

Prior to his stint in the ABL, Vergara had a short stint with the Purefoods Tender Juicy Giants (now known as the Derby Ace Llamados) in 2008 before signing with the Slingers in September of the same year.

He was also a member of some of the Harbour Centre teams that won seven consecutive Philippine Basketball League championships from 2006-2009 and previously helped Montana Pawnshop win a PBL title in 2005.

In college, Vergara helped St Francis of Assisi capture several Universities and Colleges Athletic Association (UCAA) and National Capital Region Athletic Association (NCRAA) titles in the early part of the last decade before making a name for himself in the commercial ranks.

The Coffee Masters will play the Sta Lucia Realtors to start the new PBA conference this Sunday with American Sammy Monroe as import.

Kuala Lumpur, Tuesday, March 9, 2010 – American Jason Dixon of the Philippines Patriots walked away with the Best ABL Import award at the ASEAN Basketball League (ABL) end-of-season dinner last night in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

The Philippine Patriots also received their championship rings on the night, their reward for sweeping Jakarta-based Satria Muda BritAma 3-0 in the best-of-five finals last month. It was a night of celebration for team owners, sponsors and the organisers of the inaugural league that tipped off in October 2009.

The 6′ 9″ (206cm) big man though, was modest about his award.

“To be honest with you, I personally don’t feel I deserve it,” said Dixon to Red Hoops after the dinner at the Garden Hotel in Mid Valley City. “I personally feel there are various other guys who outperformed me, Gabe Freeman being number one. Nakiea Miller is a guy that you have to give him his credit.

“When you come in number one scorer, number one rebounder, numbers talk. I’m just a guy, I fit in well with my team, I make my team play better. [But] I accept the award, thank you.”

Dixon finished the season with 228 points over 15 games for a 15.2 points-per-game average. Miller, who was brought in after the season started to replace Theo Little in the Satria Muda squad, played 10 games, scoring 207 points for a 20.7 points-per-game average.

For Dixon, who just turned 37 in February, the experience with the Patriots in a new league has been a good one so far.

“With it being a new league, I think every moment is going to be a highlight. I think there’s a lot that they have to learn, but they’ve set their bar so high. It was actually a joy to play for them (Patriots),” said Dixon.

Dixon, a much-travelled professional basketballer who has played in the Philippines, China, Turkey, Cyprus and Europe, was impressed by how the league was run.

“As far as off the court, I have no complaints. We stayed in good hotels. We travelled as well as we could. It was a good league. I was actually surprised at how the league was run,” said Dixon.

“Yes, I have seen [some leagues in my time]. I’ve stayed at some terrible hotels in the leagues that have been established. I’ve seen them treat players like they’re dirt. The ASEAN league has treated the players like they are professionals and that’s a good reputation to have,” Dixon added.

The native of Colorado, USA, is certainly looking forward to resuming his position as centre on the Patriots roster for the upcoming season.

“I am looking forward to seeing how many championships we can win. The thing is when they add more teams, you add more competition. I’m sure the salary cap is going to increase as well. We’ll see what happens,” Dixon said.

Attaporn Lertmalaiporn of the Thailand Tigers won the ABL League MVP award while Patriot Warren Ybanez pipped teammates Robert Wainwright and Jerwin Gaco for the ABL Finals MVP recognition.

Jason Dixon Career Highlights

Guangdong Southern Tigers, Chinese Basketball Association (1998−2001,2002-2009)
- Dixon achieved team-highs of 3908 rebounds, 349 blocks and 498 dunks
- Dixon’s number 15 jersey was retired by the team

Coca-Cola Tigers, Philippine Basketball Association (2008 – Fiesta Conference)

Previous Clubs

1997 – Hapoel Galil Elion, Israel Premier League
1997 – Portland Wave, USBL
1998 – New Jersey Shorecats
1998 – Karsiyaka Izmir Turkiye, Turkey Basketball League
1999 to 2000 – Guangdong Southern Tigers, Chinese Basketball League
2001 – Sodertalje Kings, Sverige Basketligan
2001 – Guangdong Southern Tigers, CBA
2001 – Trotamundos de Carabobo, Venezuela LPB
2001 – Keravnos Keo Nicosia, Cyprus A1
2002 – Huntsville Flight, D-League
2002 – Keravnos Keo Nicosia, Cyprus A1
2003 to 2009 – Guangdong Southern Tigers, CBA

source: www.basketpedya.com

Frank Arsego took the Singapore Slingers to a 10-5 win-loss record and second place during the regular season of the ASEAN Basketball League. The Slingers eventually bowed out of the semi-final playoffs after going down 1-2 to Satria Muda BritAma in a best-of-three series.

Arsego resigned his position as head coach of the Slingers to return to Australia to be with his family. Before he left, he gave this exclusive interview to Red Hoops.

Les Tan, redhoops.com: What’s your take on the basketball scene in Singapore?
Frank Arsego: The word I would use to describe the basketball industry in Singapore would be potential. I do see tremendous opportunity and potential for basketball in Singapore, especially for the men’s side. They now have a fully professional team which young guys have something to aspire to within the region and the opportunity to represent Singapore.

There are also a lot of good foundational building blocks in place. Singapore has an established association, a good school system and basketball is one of the number one played sports in the schools. They also have a national team program as well as junior programs (U-15 and U-17 national teams). All these blocks mean … certain pathways for players to develop themselves and move into a professional environment.

But there needs to be someone to work with the athletes in an elite environment, bringing the athletes together with more coaching expertise. Also, to educate them in the skills required to be a professional athlete. If they (Singapore Basketball) can do that with the younger guys, before some of the little things like deciding their education paths and National Service in the later years, it would be great for basketball.

These programs have to be for the 13-18-year-olds. These ages are the most crucial for the athlete as these are the years that most greatly influence and develop the athlete. There might also be athletes of this age group that can go further up the learning scale because of their mentality and passion for the sport. It is for these athletes that there should be an elite training environment.

For the younger ones like those under 13, you want them to enjoy the sports and have fun. At the same time, it also needs to be educational where they are learning the basic fundamental steps to playing basketball in a fun environment. Then as they grow older, there is a more serious look at the development of the fundamentals in a more competitive environment.

The biggest thing would be to maximize the potential and this would be done by working with coaches to send the right messages to athletes to develop their fundamental skills and the whole package of the game.

Les Tan, redhoops.com: What are some of the highlights for you working with the Slingers?
Arsego: A personal highlight for me would be the opportunity to put together the first ABL team for Singapore.

Another, of course, was finishing second in the regular season with our 10-5 win-loss record. That was a very special highlight because it is an indication and a tremendous reward for the five and half months of work.

There were many smaller individual highlights during certain games and with players stepping up and delivering.

But the main highlight would be taking this group to another place of high standing within the region. Some say that the Slingers got where they are now because they have imports, but the reality is, every other team have imports as well. It was a very even playing field in my eyes and we move through all that with the resources that we have.

We climbed from where people think we might be, maybe fifth or sixth, to being one game from being the top team in the competition. So that, to me, was one very special highlight.

The final one would be having a group of guys, getting a product out of them and getting our basketball community in Singapore excited. The highlight would be creating a greater interest that might not have been there in the past and getting our name out there.

Last night I went to a function at Swissotel and the doorman grabbed me as I was getting out of the cab and said, “Slingers! I had a great time this season and I love the games! I can’t wait for next season!”

When you meet people like that, you feel that you have made a connection through sports. A coach wants to be successful and win championships but if a coach doesn’t make a connection with your fans, he is not really doing his job.

Another would be getting Singapore fans to learn how to be involved and learn from the other fans that come into the stadium. As we were fighting on the court, the fans were doing the same thing in the stands! Not in a physical manner, but you know what I mean!

Les Tan, redhoops.com: Did it cross your mind to bring your family over to Singapore?
Arsego: We have a unique family dynamics. I am really outgoing, love travelling and meeting new people. At home, we have my wife – who is the most beautiful girl in the world – who enjoys her job and love the people she is around. While I have my coaching career, she has her own career in human resources – and she is very good at what she does. So for her to come over would be a major decision. Then my son is entering college so his school environment is very important to us.

For us, it wouldn’t be a pack-your-bags-and-leave decision. There are a lot of things to consider.

Les Tan, redhoops.com: Why did Hong Wei Jian get the Slingers’ Most Improved Player* award?
Arsego: At the start of the season, he was part of our starting five. Midway through the season, we wanted to give other players an opportunity to show their mental toughest or skills and some did have their moments. But eventually, Wei Jian became the most consistent.

He had the ability to come in and make something happened – whether it was good all the time is debatable, but he always came in with a lot of energy and a lot of confidence. Generally, I would say, good things happened when he came on. From that point of view of being able to play at a consistent level, he showed me that he was developing himself into a player that could be relied on.

Wei Jian has an inner confidence – something inside him that sets him apart from the other boys. If that was to come out and spread throughout the group, that would help the group further along. His improvement was also able to be shown during the ABL competition and that made him a worthy candidate.

Les Tan, redhoops.com: How about Marcus Ng? Why did he deserve the Best Defensive Player* award?
Arsego: He was a guy that was regularly expected to match up with one of the imports from the other team. I think his competitive nature and his defensive fundamentals warrant him as our best defensive player.

People think that imports that are brought in are expected to have 20 points every game, but Marcus brought another dimension to the group that helped us immensely. Going to every game knowing that you have to defend the best player – it requires a mental toughness and characteristic about you.

There’s no question that throughout the season if Marcus had not done certain things, games would not have went the ways we wanted to.

Les Tan, redhoops.com: How about Jeffers? An automatic choice for Most Valuable Player*?
Arsego: When people think MVP, they automatically go to the stats, the numbers, and what happen on the court. But with Kyle, he could give us the numbers consistently, and also contributed to the team in other ways. He would only be second to Jason Dixon in relation to what Jason did for the Patriots. It was about where the team went with having him as our center.

There was a lot that Kyle did behind the scene that was really important for the club. Most importantly, it was what he did on the court but not only that, his work ethics, being role model for the local boys and an ambassador for the Slingers to the schools and community, made him a really worthy choice.

Les Tan, redhoops.com: What are the Slingers doing for youth development?
Arsego: I think there are some preliminary plans in the works, but I am not too sure about that. If someone gave me six youth players as part of Slingers’ academy, I would definitely spend time with them. In a roundabout way, I sort of did.

With the Basketball Association of Singapore (BAS), I spend time with the U-17 boys and some lads that might be playing in the YOG (Youth Olympic Games) and realistically, they are potentially future Slingers. So it wasn’t exactly a Slingers academy, but just spending some time with the boys which could move into something more structural – something where time is set aside for professional coaches giving guidance or whatever is need. I like to think something like this is being done behind the scene and maybe during the off season.

Les Tan, redhoops.com: How would you compare Singapore with other ASEAN countries?
Arsego: Everyone who is in sports knows that it is a work in progress in Singapore. Form a cultural perspective, sport is not a high priority. It is there, as a means for people to have recreational activity, but the actually ability to drive athletes to an elite level and take them forward is only just starting to come around. The Singapore Sports Council and people that work at that level of the sport are keen to introduce sports as part of the culture.

It just needs to find some great souls that want to make a commitment to sports. Having a structure like the ABL definitely helps.

Although there are full-time jobs for coaches, but it is just a job. What they need to do is to ask, “Can I take a person that is in this school and move him through to the possible pathway of the national U-17 and then the national team and then the Slingers? Can I do that? Do I have the time, the knowledge, the skills to move certain players to that level? Or is my agenda just to be successful for a year then find other good players for the school?”

I don’t blame coaches if they think like that, but if you want athletes to be prepared to play professionally, it has to be more than that. Whether it be through the BAS creating training centres, or the Singapore Sports Council creating an institute where basketball is a chosen sport where an athlete can study the sport full time – whichever would be fantastic.

I am a bit disappointed that basketball isn’t one of the sports in the Singapore Sports School because there are boys that can really benefit from that kind of environment. © Red Sports

*The awards are awards given out by the Slingers management. They are not ABL awards.

After five months and 53 games of the maiden ASEAN Basketball League (ABL) season, the league is clearly still imperfect in many ways, but in the end, what mattered most was that ASEAN basketballers proved to be a delight to watch.

Many ASEAN basketball fans have grown up living and breathing the NBA (National Basketball Association) but not many would know that the NBA’s success did not happen overnight and in fact the world’s most popular basketball league was bereft of attention in its first decade.

Yet through the NBA came the invention of the 24-second shot clock that not only breathed life into the league, it revolutionised the entire game altogether. So it is with ABL, it may be uncertain now what changes this league could bring but the signs are already promising.

“Through this ABL, my local players have improved a lot,” said KL Dragons head coach Goh Cheng Huat. “In fact all the local players from Indonesia and Singapore have stepped up. The way I look at it, some of them have caught up with the standard of the Filipino imports.”

Unbeknownst to many, unlike the imports, most local cagers face the challenge of juggling this professional basketball gig and their long-term marketplace career. Currently amongst the local cagers, there are teachers, engineers, undergraduate and postgraduate students.

Brunei Barracudas’ top local player, 25-year-old Esmond Tan, who is an engineer with Shell, said: “Coach Ramos has tried to adjust the trainings for me in the morning and in the evening when I can join the team for trainings. I’m proud of the local players, I kept telling my local players to be ready and we will get the chance to play. We have been improving.”

Filipino coach Bong Ramos, who has extensive coaching experience across ASEAN (in Philippines, Indonesia and now Brunei), echoed coach Goh’s sentiments, he said: “Filipinos have the advantage against any of the ASEAN locals but, because of ABL I think the locals of all Southeast Asian nations will improve because this is a good league for the locals.”

“Except the Filipinos, ABL is the first professional stint for many locals,” coach Ramos added, “but to narrow the gap [between Philippines and the rest of ASEAN] is not only this league, it’s also the training and having a college league like Philippines’ NCAA/UAAP is important.”

A key indicator of the league’s maiden success was how it has managed to attract the top ASEAN coaches. Besides coach Ramos and coach Goh, who are both highly regarded in Philippines and Malaysia respectively, the coaches of the finalists – Fictor Roring of Satria Muda and Louie Alas of Philippine Patriots – are both household names as well.

Coach Alas gave a tongue-in-cheek sharing on why he joined the ABL, he said: “I was coaching Toyota Altis in the Philippine Basketball League while Mikee (Patriots owner) is the owner of Harbour Centre. We fought them twice in the PBL Championship and we lost both times. That’s why when Mikee called me to coach the Patriots, I agreed right away because there is a saying, ‘If you can’t beat them, you join them!’”

Patriots went on to assert their dominance in the league to lift the inaugural title with a 5-0 playoff run, sweeping the KL Dragons 2-0 in the semi-finals and Satria Muda 3-0 in the finals. During the regular season, Patriots beat every team in head-to-head match-ups except the Slingers, which was the only team with a non-ASEAN marshal.

Slingers’ head coach Frank Arsego, who has announced he will not be returning next season so as to spend more time with his family in Canberra, gave his two cents on how local players can be successful through the ABL.

“Listen to your coaches, learn from your coaches, try to be in an environment where you can learn your skills in competition. The players who make it, are the ones who do the extra work outside of their normal environment, they are the ones who go on to be successful,” he said.

To raise their game, the Australian coach shared how the local players have to work extremely hard to be corrected in their techniques and be grounded in high quality fundamentals to execute them under pressure.

Coach Frank shared: “We work very hard during practice to stimulate an environment where there is a lot of pressure where their decision-making under pressure will improve as they go along, and that’s what the good players can do. We’ve got local guys in Slingers, who just through their work ethics have deserved the opportunity to be with the Slingers and because of that, they are going to become better basketballers.”

While many did step up for their teams over the season, Jan has picked the top two locals who have been a surprise ‘spark’ for their team in the 09/10 ABL season and the six local young guns to look out for in the next season. Enjoy!

ABL 09/10 Top Local ‘Spark’ (Playoff and Finals): Rony Gunawan (Satria Muda)

Rony Gunawan was the local name that stood out in the ABL finals between Satria Muda and the Philippine Patriots. While the four American imports were engrossed in a battle of attrition, the Indonesian center completely outclassed the other locals in the finals.

With both Hartman and Miller pinned down by the Patriots’ tough defense, Rony rose from the rubble to finish the game one with 10 points, eight rebounds (55.6% shooting percentage), the second game with 15 points, seven rebounds (58.3% shooting percentage), and top-scored in the final game with 20 points, seven rebounds (72.7% shooting percentage).

Rony’s finals performance epitomised how it is possible for locals to shine and make a statement for themselves amidst the import-driven league.

“Coach gave me a lot minutes to play so I just played and gave my all,” said Rony reflecting on his stunning finals showing that had breathed hope into his team. “I trusted myself and my team mates, and I’ve got nothing to lose because the pressure was not on my team.”

“I think the skills of the local players are not so far from the imports,” said Rony who also shared he looks up to NBA’s Tim Duncan. “Maybe we lose out in size and the strength, but actually we can compete with the imports if we trust ourselves and not fear them.”

“Local players can do more!” said Rony on a concluding note. “They mostly face the problem of confidence and are a bit afraid to play when there is hard, body contact with the imports. But I think the more often they play in this league, they will get used to that, and get better.”

ABL 09/10 Top Local ‘Spark’ (Regular Season): Attaporn Lertmalaiporn (Thailand Tigers)

If numbers do not lie, then without a doubt, Bangkok-born Attaporn Lertmalaiporn is not only Thailand’s best kept secret, his 223 points (14.9 points per game) score card meant that he was the top-scoring local player and not at all inferior to an American import.

Besides being a menacing scoring machine, the left-handed Attaporn was also a natural entertainer with his unorthodox style of play.

“I feel that the way I play has to do with my personality,” said Attaporn who is also pursuing a Masters degree in Physical Education in Thailand concurrently. “I’m a fun-loving person and I feel that my style of basketball has to be enjoyable and entertaining to the spectators.”

“I’ve been playing basketball for 12 years but this is my first time playing in a professional league,” added the 1.93m tall Attaporn. “I’m very grateful for the opportunity. I’ve learnt a lot from the imports and I feel that having them around, my game has improved a lot.”

And finally, the top local young gun of each team to look out for in the next season:

Brunei Barracudas: Esmond Tan

KL Dragons: Loh Shee Fai

Nonoy Baclao (Philippine Patriots)

Christian Ronaldo Sitepu (Satria Muda)

Hong Wei Jian (Singapore Slingers)

Ratdech Kruatiwa (Thailand Tigers)

Editor’s Note: This has been a maiden season of surprises and here’s a shout of thanks to Leslie and Dawn for the opportunity to cover this league; the REDcrew for working so hard under my Cruella-complex; the ABL coaches who taught me heaps about the game; the ABL players for tolerating my endless questions; and the readers for your love-hate relationship with my stories. Enjoy the other stories coming up, til we next “meet”. (jan@redhoops.com)

Kuhan Foo, the chief executive officer of the ASEAN Basketball League (ABL), has revealed that the league will know by April the status of new teams coming on board for the 2010/11 season. He also pointed out that for the existing teams to survive, teams will need to learn to market themselves well.

“The challenge I think is getting teams to market themselves and finding the major support, sponsors, pulling in more crowd and creating a basketball culture,” shared Kuhan at the post-finals press conference.

“We know it is possible,” Kuhan added, “if we look at KL Dragons for example in Malaysia where the crowd is usually Chinese and men, but now their crowd has 40% Malays, 30% women because of the ABL.”

Four of the six ABL teams in the inaugural season are new teams set up in conjunction with the inception of the ABL. Only Indonesia’s Satria Muda BritAma and the Singapore Slingers are existing professional teams with the experience of engaging the community.

It has indeed proven to be a challenge for the new teams to fill the stadiums on game day. Thailand Tigers and Philippine Patriots gave free entry to their home games in a bid to draw in the crowds and drum up the support in their first season.

While the Thailand Tigers, who finished at the bottom of the table in the inaugural season, struggled to bring in the home crowd all season, the Patriots crowd picked up significantly towards the playoffs and finals.

The KL Dragons, singled out by Kuhan as the role model for having done an exceptional job in expanding and diversifying their fan base in their maiden season, credited their fans and media partners for their success.

“I don’t think other teams can do so because they don’t have Malaysian blood in them!” the KL Dragons owners said jokingly when asked how they managed to pack their stadium to the point of having to turn away spectators.

Turning serious, they continued: “I think to be fair, this game, except for Philippines, is quite new to other countries, including Malaysia. I think if you look at any leagues when they have just started, even the NBA, the English Premier League, the crowds were not there either.”

“It takes time to develop these things,” they added. “Give it time to slowly grow, it’s about creating the awareness. It has a lot to do with our media partners as well, we need to say a big thank you to them.”

Besides a massive revamp of their dynamic website mid-season and heavy utilisation of social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter, the Kuala Lumpur-based team also organised road trips for their fans to Singapore for their away games.

Indonesia’s Satria Muda is the only other team that had fans travel to an away game. Satria Muda, who have the most number of fans of all the ABL teams, have been actively building their fan base since the team joined the Indonesian Basketball League in 2003. Satria Muda have won four domestic titles since, plus the SEABA Champions Cup in 2008.

Philippine Patriots owner, Mikee Romero, who also owns the Philippine Basketball League (PBL) team, Harbour Center, the team that Satria Muda beat in the 2008 SEABA Champions Cup final, said after the ABL finals: “When we (Harbour Center) played against Satria Muda two years ago, it was a very different team. The level of Indonesian basketball has become higher.”

While the team’s success and progress will be a crowd puller, according to Kuhan, what is essentially more important is the building of a basketball culture, or a culture of identifying ABL as ASEAN’s pride.

While the Philippines have built an unrivaled basketball culture, elsewhere in ASEAN, Malaysians and Indonesians would not find local sporting pride unfamiliar too, with their history of having homegrown athletes claiming top honours at international competitions such as the Olympics.

But for the rest of ASEAN, building a strong fan base that would attract sponsors and support to ensure the sustainability and survivability of the team does seem like a mountain-moving task. The teams taking ownership of the ABL dream is the instrumental first step.

“This finals is the fruit of the ABL dream,” shared Mikee Romero at the post-finals press conference in Jakarta. “It is a common dream of Tony Fernandes and his friends (who became the owners of the six teams). There are a lot of people backing this.”

“And one day, we will grow into Asia and this league will become a big, big league,” Romero continued in zest, “and maybe even rival the NBA (National Basketball Association) or CBL (China Basketball League). Watch out for this league.”

Patriots coach Louie Alas. (Photo © Koh Yizhe/Red Sports)

The imperious Philippine Patriots swept Satria Muda BritAma 3-0 in the recently concluded ASEAN Basketball League best-of-five finals.

As the team winds down after a six-month campaign, what would you like to know about the Patriots?

Red Hoops will be getting in touch with coach Louie Alas for his thoughts on his campaign and would like you to jump in with your questions for him.

Just drop your question in the comments section and we’ll make sure it’s part of our set of questions for the winning coach.

Thanks.

Though the winning team of the inaugural ASEAN Basketball League (ABL) hailed from basketball powerhouse Philippines, both the coaches of Satria Muda BritAma and the Philippine Patriots asserted that it was the imports that separated the two sides and gave Patriots the victory.

“The imports [would] make the difference to how successful the team will be,” said both coach Louis Alas of the Patriots and coach Fictor Roring of Satria Muda unanimously after Game 3 of the ABL finals series where Patriots beat Satria Muda 75-67 to lift the league’s maiden title.

Despite a rousing start in the first period, where Satria Muda seized an early lead, Satria Muda’s American import Nakiea Miller suffered an eye injury caused by Patriot Jerwin Gaco half-way through the first period and this disrupted the hosts’ scoring momentum. Even though the 6-foot-10 American was reintroduced into the game in the second period, his role was relegated to just that of a scarecrow.

“I had to take Nakiea out for five to 10 minutes after he went down and even when he got back he was having problems with his vision,” coach Roring told Red Hoops. “But I told him to just stand there, the rest of the players will feel more confident just knowing he’s on the court.”

“But to beat Patriots, that was not enough. We need Nakiea,” coach Roring said matter-of-factly. As it was, Miller scored only three points in the first half courtesy of the sole 3-pointer before he was wounded, and he found the basket only twice in the second half.

While Miller finished with 13 points and seven rebounds, his usual partner-in-crime Alex Hartman, who completed the inaugural season as the league’s top scorer with 378 points (18 points per game), contributed only 14 points on Sunday and blamed himself for shooting poorly.

“But to be honest, I am feeling tired,” said the 25-year-old who holds both Canadian and American citizenship. He let out that he has never felt such strain in the previous ABL games. “My team really needed me to push the ball in this game because our point guards were struggling and I think that took a lot out of me.”

“Hartman can definitely do better than this just as he has done so in Singapore during the playoffs but it’s because Freeman limited him in the finals,” said coach Roring. “But despite that, I think my locals have been able to play well not just in this game but in the last few games too – and also not only Rony – Prihantono and Youbel all stepped up too.”

30-year-old Rony Gunawan completed a hat-trick of stellar performance in the ABL finals by finishing as the top scorer of his team in the third game with 20 points and seven rebounds. Rony was coach Roring’s MVP for this game, though the Indonesian coach picked Miller as his MVP for this season because of his all-round contribution throughout the season.

In the regular season, Miller topped the score boards in points per game, rebounds and blocks, and he was second in turnovers and third in steals.

“But I’m still pleased with my two imports on the whole,” coach Roring said. “It’s hard to play against Patriots who have three imports (counting Fil-Am Rob Wainwright). Dixon killed us, Freeman’s rebounds, Wainwright’s 3-pointers. It’s hard to beat a team with imports like that.”

In Jakarta, Patriots released a living demon in the frame of American Jason Dixon, who top-scored with his season high of 28 points and also set a new personal best this season with his 59.1 shooting percentage.

Patriots import, Gabriel Freeman, who has been the man to watch since joining the league late in the season, finished the final game with 17 points, though with a personal low in shooting percentage of 22%. The versatile forward however dominated the boards with 19 rebounds.

“When you have a big man like Dixon who’s so dominant, it takes the load off my shoulder,” said Freeman. “Because I won’t have to enforce myself as much, and when he’s down, I can enforce myself. It’s vice versa for both of us. We take the load off each other’s shoulder.”

“This game I played ok, I missed a lot of shots I would normally make,” said Freeman, who was limited to only six points in the first half. “I think I played my game in the second half, I went in a little bit more and was focused on the defense, I got going on the defense, that’s what I do.”

“My focus wasn’t really all out on Alex in this game,” Freeman added, “but at the same time, I’m a defensive player, so when I come into a game I’m going to be play defense but I still got to put points up. I think as a team we were more organised, we were more prepared. We were intense in the defense and the offense, we weren’t making a lot of shots but we were just up and that’s what won the game for us.”

25-year-old Freeman believed that being able to play with both the locals and with the fellow import is the difference an import has to make for his team. This he has done since coming on board to replaced Brandon Powell to rescue Patriots from a slump just before the playoffs.

Expounding on the difference he made for Patriots, Freeman said: “In a big way I did [make a difference] because Patriots have a big man, you have to play along with your big man and I personally don’t think the import that was previously here could do it.”

“When you’ve got a big guy, you play through your big guy,” Freeman said of the importance of the imports working with each other. “I’m not going to take shots away from him. I’m going to get him shots, I’m going to work around him, do everything around him. I’m going to make sure he touches the ball, I’m going to make sure I play defense for him.”

“And you know what, it’s really about how the imports play with the locals, whether they know how to play with their locals,” Freeman said in response to what would make a team successful in this league and especially to narrow the gap between the teams.

Likewise, Satria Muda’s Hartman also echoed that Miller replacing Theo Little in November 2009 was a spark for the Indonesians. But unlike Patriots, who have immediately expressed their interest to keep their imports, Satria Muda remain ambivalent.

“Based on the finals, I feel that it will be hard to defeat the Patriots with my current team,” said Satria Muda’s head coach Roring. “I will need more ‘bullets’, players who are sharp. There is still time to prepare work on this before the next season starts, so I will have to evaluate the current team before deciding whether to make changes to the team.”

Satria Muda’s top-scoring import Alex Hartman has revealed that he has a trial with the Boston Celtics coming up. In the meantime, he has rushed back to the United States as his grandfather is not well.

“Right now I’m just going to go home, rest, and do some training for the little kids while doing some of my own,” Hartman said, “I just got to get ready for the trials. We’ll see what happens. But now I’ve just got to take a break. Take three weeks off and just relax, get back my legs, no lifting, no shooting. We all need a break sometimes.”

No such dramas for Patriots’ Gabe Freeman though, who will start up with the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) in a fortnight’s time, and the question at the back of everyone’s mind is whether this ball of energy will return to the ABL next season.

Making a comparison between ABL and PBA, Freeman said: “The ABL is totally different because they actually play! It’s contact. PBA is touchy-touch, feely-feel, but ABL literally gets down and dirty, which is what most players like to play and that’s what keeps the game going. But it does get out of control sometimes but that’s part of basketball.”

“I would love to play in both leagues,” he said. “The ABL is amongst the best league I’ve played in judging from the talent level, and we won it, it feels good to be on top. It goes different on money level [between both leagues] but for me it’s not about the money, it’s about the basketball.”

When asked if he will consider playing for a different team in the ABL, Freeman said in front of his coach Louie Alas and team owner Mikee Romero: “I wouldn’t have a reason not to come back here. I’ve got a great coach, great players, my other import Jason Dixon is great.”

“They brought me in and they have done what they are supposed to do, I’ve done what I’m supposed to do,” Freeman continued and made known that beyond the basketball, integrity is just as important. “So I’m going no where, I’m here to stay. I’m loyal to who’s loyal to me.”

Jakarta, Sunday, February 21, 2010 – The Philippine Patriots beat Satria Muda BritAma 75-67 to sweep the best-of-five ASEAN Basketball League (ABL) finals 3-0.

This game was a turning point for both squads – the Patriots were seeking to end the season with the crown while Satria Muda were fighting to extend the series on home court.

The Starting lineups were:

PHILIPPINE PATRIOTS – Philippines
Warren Ybanez (Cebu Ninos – Liga)
JP Alcaraz (Mandaue Landmasters – Liga)
Jerwin Gaco (Trace-Laguna Stallions – Liga)
Gabe Freeman (San Miguel Beermen – PBA)
Jason Dixon (Chinese Basketball Association)

SATRIA MUDA BRITAMA – Indonesia
Mario Wuysang (Garuda Bandung Fenix – IBL)
Youbel Sondakh (Satria Muda – IBL)
Rony Gunawan (Satria Muda – IBL)
Alex Hartman (Satria Muda – IBL)
Nakiea Miller (Satria Muda – IBL)

The first quarter favored the hosts as Satria Muda shot the lights out of the visitors and almost reaching a double-digit lead with Sondakh and Gunawan leading the way.

JP Alcaraz was subbed by Rob Wainwright (ROSE) and made two 3-pointers to close the gap for the visitors. For the first time since their first meeting in the same arena, the hosts led by a four-point margin.

Miller had to sit out in the first quarter after Gaco accidentally poked him in the eye as they tussled for a rebound.

End of 1st Quarter: Satria Muda 17 Patriots 13

The second quarter was intense physically which got both the hosts and the crowd worked up in Jakarta. Coach Alas’ defensive strategies were at work here and the visitors and the hosts exchanged leads until half-time.

Patriot Jerwin Gaco hit Satria Muda’s Rony Gunawan with an elbow which caused a bench-clearing altercation, earning himself a technical foul and giving two free throws to Satria Muda.

Gaco was replaced by Nonoy Baclao to calm things down and Jason Dixon ended the quarter with a gorilla dunk over a silenced Nakiea Miller in a final minute of a half that resembled a giant chess match.

End of 1st Half: Satria Muda 31 Patriots 35

The third quarter was a continuation of the second with the Patriots never trailed from this point on. Notably, Alex Hartman, Prihantono and Gunawan were cracking open the Patriots’ defense at points but Jason Dixon and Gabe Freeman answered with their scoring and defensive displays.

A Freeman attempt to stop Gunawan turned into a goaltending call while the quarter became a Freeman-versus-Hartman-and-the-locals shootout.

3rd Quarter: Satria Muda 51 Patriots 62

The fourth quarter started with Patriots’ Christian Coronel stripping Satria Muda’s Mario Wuysang for a lay-up to spark a Patriots run that re-established an 11-point lead.

Satria Muda answered with a series of jumpers from Hartman and Co. to catch up while the visitors went cold for the remainder of the quarter and had to rely on free throws for points.

While Miller failed, Dixon rose to the occasion and scored from the post. Nonoy Baclao garnered the rebounds before being replaced by Gaco who received a hostile reception from the crowd.

Gaco scored the final basket for the Patriots and they wound the clock before Warren Ybanez threw the ball into the air and Hartman took the opportunity to score at the buzzer.

Final Score: Satria Muda 67 Patriots 75 (Patriots win series 3–0)

Analysis:

1. “Defense wins championships” was the mantra of the Patriots and this mindset paid off in their six meetings with Satria Muda. Despite the partisan crowds and the trash talking between players, it was the swarming, relentless defense of steals, blocks and stops that gave the Patriots the first ABL championship.

Satria Muda’s defense consists mainly of collapsing on the imports and ignoring the locals and the zone defense which at first, was effective. However, they were not able to maintain the defensive effort, leaving the Patriots to score at certain angles.

In the last two minutes of the fourth quarter, their defense was lax when they should have gambled on the hard presses to snatch a possession or two.

2. The roster depth was another factor. The Patriots have at least four to five local shooters at their disposal and three enforcers who can provide ample defensive stops.

Patriots had the luxury of a 3-guard rotation that could carry the ball and direct plays during the game. When the game got tough and the starters were in foul trouble, coach Louie Alas had second or third options in Sta. Maria and Coronel at guard, Acuna, Espiritu and Mirza at forward and Baclao at center. None of them are leading scorers but they can attack the basket when necessary.

Satria Muda did not have the luxury of a guard rotation and while Prihantono and Achmed Faisal are shooters, it was Wuysang, their only legitimate point guard, who was getting harassed by the Patriots defense.

Besides Hartman, Gunawan is Satria Muda’s other scorer but coach Fictor Roring has no option aside from Youbel Sondakh. There is no third option for the forward position. Furthermore, Situmorang could not fill Miller’s role in the five spot.

3. Tempo control was important in the game because it determined the team’s performance. In the first quarter, we saw Satria Muda leading by four but they were later overtaken by the Patriots.

Why?

Because they could not seize the moment when the opportunity presented itself and probably lacked the mentality for it.

They did not take their chances and gave the Patriots time to react and reset their strategies. The Patriots have better experiences in this category and delivered the Championship.

It was a fitting end to a fantastic championship in the same arena that started it all. We have witnessed the rise of new stars that caught the respect and awe of their peers, new teams that revealed new systems and the rise of new role players who endeared themselves to fans and lastly, an emergence of a new champion that will set the tone for basketball in the ASEAN region.

Scoring Breakdown by Quarter
Satria Muda v Patriots
1st Q: 17-13
2nd Q: 14-22
3rd Q: 21-29
4th Q: 15-11

Satria Muda BritAma Game Box Score

Philippine Patriots Game Box Score

Jakarta, Sunday, February 21, 2010 – The inaugural ASEAN Basketball League (ABL) season drew to a close as the Philippine Patriots displayed their all-round supremacy on the hardwood to defeat Satria Muda BritAma 75-67 and earn a much-deserved 3-0 series sweep to claim the title of champions.

The emphasis of the entire season has been about the strength in depth of the Patriots and game three was no exception. While their dynamic scorer Gabe Freeman had one of his poorer shooting nights, his American counterpart Jason Dixon was simply unstoppable with 28 points and 12 rebounds.

That’s not to belittle Freeman’s effort either. He ended up with 17 points and 19 rebounds and played some simply suffocating defense on Alex Hartman, a key factor in the series win. In fact, the extent of Freeman’s impact on this team cannot be overstated enough. Since he joined the team with two games to go in the regular season, the Patriots have been undefeated.

Freeman and Dixon are undoubtedly the league’s most potent 1-2 punch and they showed their mettle again by comprehensively outplaying the Satria Muda import duo of Hartman and Nakiea Miller who finished with 14 and 13 points respectively.

After the Patriots had won the first two games, the series shifted to Jakarta where SMB coach Fictor Roring was hoping for a shift in momentum. The intensity and atmosphere generated by their home crowd seemed to lift the Indonesians as they stormed to an early nine-point lead at 14-5.

But their momentum was halted when Miller had to take a seat after being inadvertently poked in the eye by Patriots forward Jerwin Gaco while battling for a rebound. His absence gave the Patriots impetus to start mounting a comeback, which the champions duly obliged by looking for Dixon to establish his superiority inside.

Miller did return for the second quarter but at that point, Dixon had clearly found his rhythm torching the Indonesians for 12 markers in that crucial second period, mixing an array of inside moves and some deft outside shooting.

With a four-point lead at the half, the Patriots came out in the third quarter with more intensity, starting out the period with a 7-0 run and building an 11-point lead that SMB were simply unable to dig themselves out of.

Not that SMB gave up. They did everything possible to come back but in the end it was just too much firepower from the Patriots as they coasted home to an impressive victory and the inaugural ABL championship.

There has been a lot of mention about the imports in the series but a lot of credit has to go to local Indonesian Rony Gunawan who may have been his team’s player of the series. He had strong efforts in the first two games and Game 3 was no exception as he finished with 20 points and 7 rebounds in a losing effort.

His effort kept SMB close and he should hold his head up high after establishing himself as a true quality basketball player and if SMB can add a few more pieces next year, they could go even further.

As for now, the moment belongs to the Patriots who have been the league’s best team all season and have once again shown the Philippines’ supremacy when it comes to basketball in Southeast Asia.

The league will undoubtedly go a long way towards closing the gap between the Philippines and the rest of the countries but that is still in the future. The present and the reality is that the Philippines have more basketball talent than the other countries and SMB can be proud of pushing the Patriots as hard as they did.

“This has been a fantastic start to our inaugural season and the league can only get stronger from here on out,” said Kuhan Foo, chief executive officer of the ABL.

“We’ve already made a huge impact with our games televised live across the South East Asia and being streamed live on the internet in Europe, the United States and North Asia. We‘re looking at adding more teams to the league and we are working closely with the South East Asian Basketball Association making this league stronger in its second season that will start in October this year,” he added.

Scoring Breakdown by Quarter
Satria Muda v Patriots
1st Q: 17-13
2nd Q: 14-22
3rd Q: 21-29
4th Q: 15-11

Satria Muda BritAma Game Box Score

Philippine Patriots Game Box Score