A League Of Our Own

07 Feb 2009

Will basketball flourish in a region whose population is crazy over football? Or maybe it’s just about branding and marketing.

In clay, mud or cement, a basketball court is a permanent fixture in the Philippines. The streets also serve as alternative courts when there are no cars passing and politicians score points when they donate a basketball court or sponsor a match.

It is no small wonder why Filipinos dominate the game in Southeast Asia. They love to say they inherited this game from their American colonisers. But the Americans and Europeans would often mock them—Filipinos are relatively short people to play a game designed for tall people. Probably the height factor is the reason why basketball has not flourished much around Southeast Asia. We’d rather be good at sports that do not give emphasis on height like badminton, boxing or sepak takraw.

Now, here comes a guy who doesn’t even know the difference between a three-point and a two-point shot, who only played hoops once and who jokes that he looks like a basketball himself, singing all praises about the future of basketball in Southeast Asia. Are you kidding us?

"The league will initially consist of eight teams that will play on a home and away basis, leading to a knock-out, playoff round."

But Tony Fernandes, the man who only played basketball once, is not joking when he says he can do something and will make it happen. His company AirAsia, the region’s biggest budget airline, is a testament that impossible things happen everyday. Asia’s Cinderella man may not be a sports buff but he knows where and how to put his money and make more money. He is so convinced that in two years, he will get a return of investment and will make basketball the biggest game in Southeast Asia.

So what’s the game plan?

Funding, high-quality teams, advertisement support and a fan base that will follow the games wherever are some factors to consider. Even popular games in Southeast Asia like football and badminton are not huge earners and the players are still not considered rich, say, by NBA standards.

During the launch of the Asean Basketball League (ABL), Fernandes—whose businesses range from airlines to hotels to financial services to sports management—explains why he has a strong belief in the success of basketball in the region.

“The best way of uniting Asean is through sports... Basketball can reach across all countries and can be a very popular sport,” he says.

“It has been a long time dream of mine to unite Asean under a single banner of sports and with the ABL, I feel it will bring a new era on how sports is organised and marketed in this region... It would be great to create something closer to home... We will make Asean a much smaller place,” he says.

ABL, which Fernandes chairs, has the support of the Southeast Asian Basketball Association (Seaba) and the International Basketball Federation FIBA. Teams will consist of international players from the United States, Australia, Europe and Asean member nations—Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Burma, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Viet Nam.

It will be made up of professional franchise teams hosted by cities in each Asean member country. The teams will be privately owned, with each franchise holder resorting to its own revenue streams to generate fund.

The league will initially consist of eight teams that will play on a home and away basis, leading to a knock-out, playoff round. It is scheduled to start in Sept 2009, with games to be held until Feb 2010.

Choosing franchisees in each country is quite tricky. ABL has to make sure that the applicant has a strong financial backing with the ability to attract advertisers and commitment to tap local talents. ABL has stressed the development of local talents to ensure the sustainability of the game.

“It’s really about local stuff.” says Fernandes.

Bob Elphinston of FIBA agrees. “We really do not need foreigners to ensure the success of the game... As long as the game is exciting and well presented, the public will come.”

Fernandes compares this new venture to the music industry.

“When I started in the music business, we were only selling American and English music so I suggested to invest in local talents. Who wants to buy a Malay or Indonesian artist when you have Madonna, etc? But now, 60% is local,” he recalls.

ABL will put a restriction to only two Asean and two non-Asean imports for each team. To provide balance, there will be a salary cap for each player and teams will be strictly monitored if they try to circumvent the rules.

Fernandes and his friends from FIBA and Seaba may be convinced that the time is ripe to launch the regional league but the skeptics are doubtful especially when the world is entering the worst crisis since the Great Depression.

“There is skepticism out there but if you don’t try, you never know.”

“This is the best time to launch a league. People need entertainment. People need to be together for two-and-a-half hours of basketball entertainment. The best time to advertise is during economic crisis because you know who your friends are,” Fernandes says, adding that he has tripled AirAsia’s advertising in response to the economic crisis.

Asean provides a regional platform of a population base of 600 million people that always crave for new forms of entertainment.

Being a businessman that he is, Fernandes believes they have the right product to market.“We provide a viable platform, a wonderful platform for sports, a wonderful time for companies to build an Asean brand.”

Maybe it’s gut feel, experience and the willingness to take a risk, Fernandes believes in dreaming big. “Not in a million years would I imagine that I would be chairman of a basketball league. But then not in a million years would I imagine I would own an airline.”

With this, he has committed to shed some sweat, build a basketball court at his house and play the hoops, seriously.