Asean Basketball League set to tip off with nine teams

PETALING JAYA: The eighth season of the Asean Basketball League (ABL) is set to tip off on Nov 17 with nine teams.

Only six teams took part last year while eight competed in 2012.

Of the six teams who took part last year, Kaohsiung Truth of Taiwan won’t be returning this season.

The four new teams – CLS Knights Surabaya of Indonesia, the Formosa Dreamers of Taiwan, Mono Vampire club of Thailand and Nanhai Long Lions of China – will slug it out with defending champions Hong Kong Eastern, Singapore Slingers, Westports Malaysia Dragons, Saigon Heat (Vietnam) and the Alab Pilipinas (Philippines) for the ABL title this season.

Mono are making their return to the league after making their debut in the 2015-16 season, when they finished with a dismal 3-17 record.

The Thai club made great progress since, winning three straight titles in the Thailand Basketball League (TBL).

The biggest surprise is the inclusion of the Long Lions from basketball-crazy China.

The Long Lions are based in Foshan and are an affiliated to Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) league side Guangzhou Long Lions.

“Having nine teams, the most ever in the league’s eight seasons, is an accomplishment,” said ABL chief operating officer Jericho Ilagan.

Dragons head coach Chris Thomas (pic) also welcomed the new additions, saying they relished the challenge ahead.

“It’s unbelievable what the league has done – reaching out to places like China. I’ll take nine teams over six any time,” said Thomas.

“It’s also great that Indonesia and Thailand have a team back. The competition is going to be tougher but we certainly welcome it.

“This will make Malaysian basketball thrive. It will be a great experience for my boys to go and play in basketball-crazy China.”