19 JANUARY 2009 KUALA LUMPUR - The first international basketball league in South-East Asia will take off in October 2009.

In the presence of FIBA President, Bob Elphinston, FIBA Secretary General and IOC Member Patrick Baumann, South East Asia Basketball Association (SEABA) President Erick Thohir and International Basketball Federation Asian Zone (FIBA Asia) secretary-general Datuk Yeoh Choo Hock announced the launch of the ‘ASEAN Basketball League’ (ABL).

The ASEAN Basketball League will be chaired by Tony Fernandes, entrepreneur and founder of Air Asia the largest no-frills, budget airline in the region. His experience in opening new businesses and new markets as well as his abilities in the branding and licensing business will prove invaluable to the successful establishment of the League.

The ASEAN Basketball League will initially be made up of 6-8 teams from Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. Each team is allowed 5 import players – 2 international, 2 ASEAN and one player of ASEAN heritage, with a total squad of 12 players and a travelling squad of 10 players. Teams will compete in a home and away league format culminating in playoffs for the top 4 teams. The tentative league period is October to March every year.

With today's announcement, bids can be submitted for the available club franchises. Candidates will be submitted to stringent professional and economical requirements to ensure the long term success of the league. The league will also install a salary cap to provide the necessary balance between teams.

The league aims at cementing the relationship between ASEAN countries through basketball, creating the first pan-ASEAN entertainment and sports property and developing local basketball talents, in an area that covers a population of 600 million people.

FIBA Secretary General Patrick Baumann said at the media brief in Kuala Lumpur: "The ASEAN Basketball League is the first of its kind in Asia and a welcome indication of the maturity achieved by our sport. It will further boost the popularity of basketball in this area and beyond, while creating new opportunities and dreams for the FIBA family. We look forward to seeing new talents and countries emerge in basketball in the next five years as a result of this project."

“A dream is coming true for our region," stated Dato Yeoh Choo Hock. “This is a long-term project and we want teams who can stay the distance and have the ability to improve the game in their own country. The objective is to raise the standard of the sport in our region,” he said.