ABL shutdown rumours fake news
THE KL Dragons have stepped up to further squash rumours that the Asean Basketball League (ABL) is on the verge of being shut down.
Rumours have been rife that the ABL is on the brink of closing up due to the uncertainties caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
However, Saigon Heat and the Singapore Slingers have since come forth to deny it.
Now the Dragons, who are one of three major decision-makers of the league alongside the Heat and the Slingers, have also echoed that sentiment.
“There have been uncertainties due to the travel restrictions which poses problems for a pan-Asian league like the ABL,” explained Dragons co-owner Datuk Ruben Gnanalingam.
“We are currently looking at all the options that are available to us. We want to ensure that the health and safety of our teams and fans can be achieved with any plan that we consider.
“And to that extent, a possibility is to delay the start of the next season until early 2021,” added Ruben.
Since its inception as a six-team Asean event in 2009, the ABL has expanded to include teams outside Southeast Asia. The 2019-20 season had 10 teams featuring clubs from Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan.
The 2020-21 season was initially due to start in November but that could now be pushed back to February next year.
Travel and logistics certainly pose a challenging problem for the league that offers a unique home-and-away format across several countries.
The remainder of the current season is not expected to be completed.