SINGAPORE — With excitement slowly building up, major shareholders, including Malaysian millionaire Tony Fernandes of AirAsia Group, of the soon-to-be launched Asean Basketball League (ABL) expressed confidence the first regional basketball league will become a major sporting event not only in the region but in the whole of Asia as well.

Though football remains the region’s No. 1 sport, Fernandes, whose company recently forged a partnership with three-time National Football League (NFL) champion the Oakland Raiders, said he is convinced basketball has the potential to grow as big and popular as football in the Asean region.

Marketing-wise, basketball is fast catching up with football.

“I’m not really a good player but basketball is easy to play and understand. It’s fun and very exciting sport. It’s really a sport for everybody – young and old, boys and girls,” Fernandes, the prime mover of the league, said. “So right now, I’m already excited with the launching of the tournament.”

The London-educated businessman said the visit of NBA star Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers here Wednesday augurs well to the league which will officially open in October either here on in Manila.

“Kobe’s visit here and in Manila, and in other parts of Asia is just a proof that basketball is well and alive in the South East Asian region. We also want to create our own Asean hero, and I believe we can produce not only one but a dozen. And that’s one of our objectives,” he added during an informal talks with other shareholders, including Harbour Centre Mikee Romero, an hour before Kobe and his entourage arrived at the National Indoor Singapore here.

Joining Fernandes and Romero in the meeting were ABC-5 president Bobby Barreiro and Erick Arejola of Harbour Center, media mogul Erik Tohir of Indonesia, a representative of a giant beer company of Thailand and several officials from this country.