A barmy decision
MABA’S one-team only policy doesn’t make sense at all
BASKETBALL has a new superstar. And his name is Jeremy Lin.
This New York Knicks cager has even given rise to a new catch-phrase: Lin-sanity!
Each time his team are in action in the NBA, you can bet all eyes are on the 23-year-old 1.91m-tall sensation.
Wouldn’t it be nice if we too had a Jeremy Lin in our midst?
But who are we kidding? Basketball has never been a popular sport in Malaysia.
It is a favourite pastime of many, but it is lacking far behind other games as a competitive sport.
But that doesn’t mean we should trivialise the sport – or rather the achievements of the national players.
Basketball has the potential to grow into a popular sport in Malaysia – and the region. All it needs is proper development and the right guidance.
The emergence of our very-own professional outfit – Westports Malaysia Dragons – in the Asean Basketball League (ABL) is proof that there are many talented, promising and committed basketball players in the country.
Granted, the ABL is no NBA and the Dragons are nowhere near the standards of teams such as the LA Lakers, Chicago Bulls and Dallas Mavericks.
But one cannot deny that the ABL has raised the profile of basketball in the region since its inception three years ago.
The ABL is clearly catching on in Malaysia too. Just take some time out on a Saturday or Sunday to watch one of the Dragons’ home games and you’ll be amazed at the huge turnout of fans from all walks of life.
The 5,000-seater MABA Stadium is always filled to the brim.
And the Dragons are not doing too bad either – sitting second in the eight-team standings.
Thanks to the Dragons, young Malaysians can now chase their dreams of playing professional basketball.
At least eight out of the 14 players in the Dragons team are Malaysians and fans regularly chant the names of B. Guguneswaran, K. Satyaseelan and Loh Shee Fai.
And these players are all part of the national team – they are simply the best in the country.
Thus, it came as a shock to many, including me, when the Malaysian Basketball Association (MABA) announced their decision to stop the national players from playing for more than one team.
It’s either you play for the national team or the Dragons. You can’t play for both.
This is like the English FA telling stars like Wayne Rooney and Steven Gerrard that they cannot play for their clubs if they want to play for the country. How silly is that? To add insult to injury, MABA declared that this was being done so that the national team could be developed to achieve a gold medal in themyanmar SEA Games next year. Utter rubbish! What kind of growth are they expecting if they refuse to allow players to compete in toplevel tournaments?
The national team only compete in invitational tournaments and the FIBA Asian Championship. On average, that equals to fewer than 10 tournaments a year.
How on earth are you going to improve by playing in just 10 tournaments a year?
The cagers are assured of more matches on a consistent basis byplaying in the ABL. They are also exposed to more high-intensity matches. They will most definitely benefit from it. The 22-year-old Shee Fai is a testimony to that. He is one of the most impressive Dragons players thus far, going from a bench-warmer three years ago to becoming a regular starter this season.
Besides, why do MABA want to deprive the players from earning a living from playing the game they love so much?
It’s not too late for MABA to rescind the decision. The players have been given until the end of the season to make up their minds, although several senior players have hinted at retiring from national duty. And who can blame them? Should they quit the national team, chances are the young up-and-coming ones like Shee Fai, Kwaan Yong Jing and Kuek Tian Yuen will follow suit.
What then MABA? Form a brand new team comprising second stringers and juniors?
If that is the case, they can kiss the SEA Games gold medal goodbye.
Wise up MABA. It is not too late to make a U-turn on that ridiculous decision and set things right.