The men behind the Philippine team in the Asean Basketball League (ABL), coach Louie Alas, left, Antonio “Tonyboy” Cojuangco, center, and Mikee Romero, are shown during Tuesday’s launching of the league. (BOB DUNGO JR.)

Asean for now, Asian tomorrow.

That’s the ultimate objective of team owners after launching the first-ever regional professional league – the Asean Basketball League (ABL) – on Tuesday with the aim of bridging the gap between Asian superpowers and those in Southeast Asian region.

Mikee Romero of Harbour Centre and ABC-5 owner Antonio Cojuangco, who co-owns the Philippine Patriots in the home-and-away tournament, believe the creation of ABL came just at the right time as Middle East countries are trying to challenge the dominance of China.

“The ABL is a dream for us, this will bring all Southeast Asian countries under one roof and unite against the best in Asia,” said Romero. “We have already taken the first step which is the launching of this event, the second step is to make this league big.”

Like league founder and chairman Tony Fernandes of Malaysia, Cojaungco was equally enthusiastic about the success of the league.
 
“With what’s happening in the surroundings, the ABL is a welcome relief to all Filipinos who love sports. This is a new venue for networking and a perfect vehicle to advertise  one’s product,” said Cojuangco.

“With the support of these dynamic businessmen, I’m positive the league will do well,” added Cojuangco during a full-packed launching held at the Renaissance Hotel in Makati.

Also gracing the affair were ABC-5 managing director Bobby Barreiro, Indonesian Erick Thohir, ABL chief executive Kuhan Foo of Malaysia, Lee Chung Han, chief finance of Tune Group, Ms. Nadzaty Azma Azeea of Brunei, Wim Reijnen of Thailand Tigers, and Erick Arejola of Philippine Patriots.

Thohir, who is also president of South East Asian Basketball Association (Seaba) emphasized the strong need for this kind of tournament, saying most of Asean countries, including the Philippines, are now far behind in terms of skills and technical know-how.

“In the 60s, the Philippines is always among the best in Asia, now a lot of other countries are now better than the Philippines. With the ABL, we hope we can bridge the gap,” said Thohir.

To keep abreast with other Asian countries, Cojuangco and Romero suggest the league must help in the youth development program of various associations.

During the event, several players were introduced to the media.

The Philippine Patriots, who will be handled by Letran coach Louie Alas, open their campaign against the Indons on October 10 in Jakarta, Indonesia. They will meet next the Singapore Slingers the following week in Singapore.

Aside from producing basketball heroes, the home-and-away tournament will also be used as a vehicle to promote ASEAN brands in the market since basketball is the world’s second most popular sport after football (soccer).

Each team, according to Arejola, will be allowed to have two foreign imports, two ASEAN players, one player with one parent from ASEAN, and seven local players.

To level the playing field, each foreign import should not get more than $10,000.

Filipino players are also allowed to play as import for other countries.