TEHRAN (FIBA Asia U18 Championship for Junior Men): The mood in the mandatory Technical meeting on the eve of the 20th edition of the FIBA Asia U18 Championship for Junior Men on Wednesday was one of gloom and sadness.
For, one of the teams that formed a part of the original 16-team fray would not be participating. And not for any routine reasons of last minute withdrawal, but due to a blow from the Providence.
The plane which carried the Kyrgyzstan delegation to the championship crashed a couple of minutes after it took off from Bishket killing most of their players.
Kyrgyzstan obviously can not participate in the championship.
“This is really a disastrous incident about a member of the FIBA Asia family,” said FIBA Asia Deputy Secretary General Hagop Khajirian who chaired the Technical Meeting, when calling upon those assembled for a minute’s silence in memory of those killed.
The meeting also passed a resolution to convey the condolence message on behalf of all the teams participating in the championship.
“It’s a real sad thing,” regretted India coach Aleksandar Bucan.
“A plane crash is bad enough. Along with it the lives of so many young sportsmen has been taken away,” the Serbian went on.
“Kyrgyz basketball was so looking forward to this U18 team to take them to the next level,” said Nikolay Mikhalchuk, the General Manager of the Kazakhstan team, also a former Soviet Union republic.
“Their (Kyrgyz) federation had worked really hard at getting things going. And now this,” he added.
As a result of Kyrgyzstan’s absence, Group D in the preliminary round will feature only three teams – Iran, Syria and Malaysia.
Showing posts with label News. Show all posts
Showing posts with label News. Show all posts
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Thursday, January 10, 2008
〈SBL〉台啤對判決不服 衝突成意外焦點
SBL〉台啤對判決不服 衝突成意外焦點
更新日期:2008/01/06 23:43記者:陳筱琳
在濃濃的火藥味中，裕隆恐龍以79比75逆轉擊敗台灣啤酒，贏得開季12連勝，但球隊與裁判之間的衝突，成了另類話題。
事情的起因在比賽倒數39.9秒，當時裕隆陳信安自外圍啟動，切入禁區上籃，台啤吳岱豪點手犯規，陳信安進算，並獲加罰一球的機會，台啤教練嚴家驊對此判決有意見，認為應該是出手前就犯規，不應球進算，在向裁判抱怨時吞下一次技術犯規。
陳信安靠著那次加罰，幫助裕隆以75比75追平台啤，跟著陳志忠兩罰中一，裕隆全場首度站上領先位置，台啤雖利用犯規戰術凍結，希望藉此換取進攻機會，裕隆四罰中三，但台啤兩次三分出手都沒掌握住，最後4分之差吞下本季對裕隆的二連敗，四連勝也硬生生被中斷。
賽後台啤全隊的怒氣沒有熄滅，吹判那次關鍵犯規的裁判張芳文、檢查員陳膺成與蔡富山在籃協組成的人牆保護下，才能離開球場。
台啤訓練員周俊三表示，儘管無法接受，但球隊輸球已成定局，球隊不光要自己檢討失利問題，裁判能否跟上腳步，也是裁判需要學習的。裕隆陳信安未對此事多談，僅表示裁判吹犯規，他上去罰球就是。
因為對裁判吹判不滿指數大爆發，讓台灣啤酒男籃隊總教練閻家驊在7日與裕隆恐龍賽後怒踢裁判，針對第五季開季後的裁判判例、尺度爭議，SBL超級籃球聯賽委員會在今天(9日)的例行會議中，做出三項決議。
第一點決議是對於裁判尺度一事所做，SBL委員會和中華籃協決定好好討論一番，針對裁判尺度及近日較多爭議的走步違例，將邀請各隊教練及裁判進行溝通與說明，希望藉此提昇比賽精采度。
另外，關於第六季SBL電視轉播授權等行銷方面事宜，要儘快著手辦理，還有第六季賽務及票務規會也要及早進行。
參與這次委員會會議的球團代表包括裕隆領隊江育誠，台灣大顧問何孝齊、副領隊鄭志龍，達欣領隊王才翔，台啤領隊閻家驊，璞園領隊田振駿，米迪亞領隊張榮光。
以下是三點決議完整內容：
一、SBL委員會與中華籃協決定針對開季以來的判例、執法尺度，以及較多爭議的走步違例，邀請各隊教練、裁判進行溝通與說明，以利SBL賽事順利進行，提升比賽精采度。
二、針對第六季SBL電視轉播授權與行銷、經營權，委員會將在近期內擬具相關辦法，及早規畫執行，在經營、行銷、電視轉播等各方面，儘快著手辦理。
三、SBL委員會希望中華籃協儘速為SBL第六季的賽務、票務進行規畫與布局，及早敲定場館和配套措施，為球迷提供更好的服務。
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
FIBA Asia - When 'Gen.' Lee spoke...
Col.Lee Kak Kuan
Technical Director FIBA Asia
TOKUSHIMA (FIBA Asia Championship) - When he retired from the Malaysian Army Services Regiment about 17 years ago, his official rank was that of a Lt. Col. In the basketball circles in this part of the world, he is simply known as "Colonel Lee." But in a manner of speaking, he walks around any major championship in Asia like a General would marshal his army, leaving behind instructions with a tone of authority. With an authority that is well-earned, well-deserved and well-respected!There might not have been many days in the last 25 years when the man - who responds to the name Lee Kak Kuan, not that many recognize him like that - has not thought of some technical matter or the other about some upcoming tournament. "Well, how can you ask me to stop eating or breathing?" he asked when I posed him that question. "Basketball is my life, and I believe in doing everything correctly," the 68-year-old said, in an interview on the sidelines of the Championship.ExcerptsOn the standards of officiating in FIBA AsiaGood point, straight away. I think we have made some remarkable progress in the last five years or so. But we still have a lot to achieve.You have to understand one thing. The standard of officiating is directly proportional to the overall standards of the sport itself. The better the game, better the officials. Having said that, I must insist here that given the lack of adequate exposure our officials have done exceedingly well.But with the development of the game, especially the manner some of the countries from the West Asian and Gulf subzones have improved, so have the officials. There are a lot more younger referees than there used to be. Which is a sure index for the progress.On the steps taken to consolidateWe have increased the number of clinics for referees. That's one way of complementing the development of the game. We think regular interaction among the referees among themselves within our zone and with officials from outside is one sure way of improving our levels.Championships like these are a boon for our referees. This is a great chance for those who have come here, to move to the next step.We also tell those who have come here to go back to their countries and pass on the knowledge they have gained. Only then we can increase the quantity and quality of our referees.His advice to young and upcoming officialsIt's very easy to answer this. But very hard to practice.Let me address it in different parts.First of all, referees should not forget they are great ambassadors of the game. If a player or a team makes a mistake, they only lose a match. But if a referee errs in judgement, it reflects on everybody involved. Right from FIBA up to the Technical table for the match. So officials should not forget, one moment of lapse in concentration can lead to very poor presentation of the game itself.The first thing referees should look at is how they present themselves and how they maintain themselves. It's very important.A referee should be able to read the game with a sharp sense of mind and at the same time have a passionate feel of the game. You should enjoy yourself doing the job. A referee should also have a very strong sense of justice and fairness in him. Sound knowledge of the rules, but with a very practical approach in interpreting them is another very key factor.How would you motivate a youngster to get into officiating?You see, there's a great amount of respect and goodwill that you can gain, if you take up to this line of the sport. The rewards and returns might not always match what you expect. But then there's something called satisfaction that you derive from what you do. Having said that, I can assure you that rewards and returns will follow, but the first step should come from the referee's side. It all depends upon how much the referee is willing to persevere.
FIBA - My job is to have people respect FIBA and ensure FIBA deserves that respect: Baumann
Mr. Patrick Baumann
Secretary General FIBA
TOKUSHIMA (FIBA Asia Championship) - For some, induction into the International Olympic Committee as a member is an achievement in itself. But for some others, like Patrick Baumann it's a start of a new learning process."It's a result of the support a lot of people have shown me. It's also an indication of the trust these illustrious people have reposed in me and in our sport," he told this correspondent during an interview on the sidelines of the Championship.ExcerptsPatrick, first of all congratulation on becoming one of the youngest members of IOC. Your feelings…Obviously I've been fortunate to have the support of a lot of people like my mentor Mr Stankovic and the FIBA president Mr. Elphinston.The Asian community too has been very supportive.And finally I'm thankful for Dr. Rogge for proposing my induction.I'm one of the youngest in the Committee. It's a great honor. But I'll be learning sitting with them. All of them are extraordinary people, who know what they are talking about.What is your vision for FIBA vis-à-vis your presence in the IOC?First things first, I owe my thanks to FIBA for my nomination. For FIBA, it's very important having the Secretary General in IOC. It demonstrates that, despite me being Swiss, that basketball is very strong in the Olympic movement.It's important for FIBA, as for example, we want to have 16 teams in the Olympic competition. It's important to be inside there and get the support of all the people who voted for you.Secondly, being a member of the IOC is a good place for networking. Like if you want to solve a problem in any part of the world, you would already know somebody from there. Because, you see the members of the IOC are all over the world. And these are people who have a lot of influence.Your thoughts on international basketball vs. amateur sport.(Laughs). I think every citizen in the world is in some way some sort of an amateur sportsperson. Like when you are walking to the office or anything as simple and basic as that.If you are talking about organized sport, it's stretching from the very amateur base to the very professional. That's something which is very positive.If you see, sport about 20 years ago, it was based on volunteerism. That's how I started in sport. But it's no longer the case. The work I did in Italy when I started as table official as a volunteer calls for payment today. That's how sport has moved ahead.Sport becoming professional has pushed the pursuit of excellence very far.But then there are problems that come with that. Like doping for instance. You want to be ahead of the rest all the time. Success matters a lot in professional sport. So you think doping is one way of doing it. And that's wrong, taking away the credibility of the competition.How do sport administrators overcome the problems of professional sport?Administrators have to be sharper. We also need people to be more equipped with know-how and better qualified. It's like the athletes themselves. You want to be the best and therefore you should emulate the best.Like a team goes out for exposure and training, sport administrators too should go out and learn from people who are doing a similar kind of job, but in a lot better way.Sport officials have to be people of very high expertise.Your thoughts on FIBA and basketball in general.We are lucky basketball is a very good product, even international basketball. So you need to work a way to promote it better. The important thing here is that the process needs to be right. Once the process is right, 95% of the times you'll take the right decision. And on other occasions, you'll learn so much you'll do it a lot better than you did on the previous occasion.Your thoughts on FIBA Asia in relation to other zones. Do you think the rate of progress in Asia is as good? Are there disappointments?Asia has definitely grown. Today you have at least 10 teams competing for the Championship as against one three or four. That's a very good sign of development.Also Asia has been organizing a lot of international events of late. Not only the FIBA Asia Championships, but also world events like the FIBA World Championship in Japan or the Beijing Olympics next year. And these events are being conducted in a very professional and organized manner. But if you see the flip side, Asian teams are not very consistent in international performances. Like China has always been on top at the Asian level. But in international competition, they are yet to break into the top level. Whereas if you see the African nations, like Nigeria for instance in the last world championship came close to beating Germany and France. So you see African teams have suddenly shown faster progress than Asian teams.We need to have India coming in a big for Asian basketball. India is a huge basketball potential.Can you elaborate?You see Asia is made up of the three parts. Traditionally, the East Asian nations have been stronghold of basketball. And they have remained strong.Then we have the West Asian and gulf nations making rapid progress. Like you see here Lebanon are playing the final against Iran. That's happened because of an organized structure in their approach.And then you have the central Asia. What do you have here? Mainly India.That's the importance of India in Asian basketball. I don't understand why people play cricket in India. Why do we play three days, drink tea and not have a result. (Laughs).We can instead play basketball.I'll say it now and I'll say it again, India is very critical for Asian basketball.Please assess Patrick Baumann as the FIBA Secretary General.(Laughs). I won't do this. It's for others to do this. It's an amazing job. It's truly a demanding, but charming, profession. I'm enjoying it a lot.Of course, I'd like it to be less political than what it is. But then that's how things are and you learn from them.One thing I've learnt in this job is to get a lot of people to work for you by motivating them.It's given me a great sense of responsibility towards all those who are involved in basketball.The more important thing is FIBA should be a very responsible organization. I want people to respect FIBA as an international organization. But more importantly, I want FIBA to deserved that respect.
West Asia - 'The pieces were already there, we just put them in place'
Secretary General of West Asian Basketball Association. 2007 FIBA Asia Championship, Tokushima, Japan.
West Asia - 'The pieces were already there, we just put them in place'
TOKUSHIMA (FIBA Asia Championship) - This south-eastern city in the land of Awa has witnessed history being created in Asian basketball. For the first time, a team outside of the East Asia and Philippines has bagged the FIBA Asia Championship. For the first time in history, two teams from West Asia contested the final.This correspondent spoke to Hagop Khajirian, Secretary General of West Asian Basketball Association, a sub zone of FIBA Asia, on the causes, reasons and future of this ripple."Don't forget we have a third team, Jordan, in the top five," he beamed as I broached the topic during a chat moments before the final.ExcerptsTell us how it feels to have teams from WABA playing the final.
WABA teams are playing the final for the FIBA Asia Championship, no doubt it is very exciting. Words can't describe my feelings last night (Saturday). This was my personal dream when we started WABA in 1998 - a West Asian nation to win the Asian Championship.And it is the effort of each and every individual at each and every level in each and every department that has brought us to this stage. It's definitely a huge achievement for the West Asian basketball community.How did it this change happen?Before 1998, West Asian participation itself in the then ABC was marginal.It was when I led the Lebanese delegation to the 1999 Championship (in Fukuoka) did I realize that it was the 20th edition of the Championships. Which means the Championships had been going on for 40 years and we were not even there. Like I said teams would be playing on and off, but it was not organized at all.So when we formed WABA we told ourselves that we have to leave behind for our next generation what they have actually inherited as their right - to play good basketball. We couldn't get a lot of things during our playing days because of a lot of reasons. And we didn't want the next generation to suffer the same absence.It was not that basketball did not exist in our region before WABA. The pieces were already there. We just had to draw a frame and put the pieces together. It looked a big challenge initially.How did you overcome the challenges?As you are aware, a politically turbulent atmosphere is quite common in our region. But I think the perseverance of the people has paid off.In this context, I must mention that the contribution made by each National federation, each official - technical, coaching or otherwise - in each federation of the sub zone is truly invaluable.I can only congratulate my colleagues in WABA and the National federations in our sub zone for achieving what we have done today.You think WABA is an example for a subzone to achieve…Why not! We achieved all this merely because we were passionate and committed.WABA has a strong junior program. Although the FIBA Asia Junior championships are held only once in two years, WABA conducts the sub zonal championships every year. Say for example, for next year's FIBA Asia U-18 Championships we will play the qualifying tournament this year as WABA U-17 tournament. Last year this was U-16. The cumulative points from both the tournaments are taken into account for qualification for the FIBA Asia tournament.And all this happens under the supervision of very good coaches. There you have the secret for our success.Is there something that has not happened?I would be arrogant to say no.We are the first sub-zone attempting to play a sub-zonal league cutting across national boundaries. We want 10 teams to play in two groups throughout the year. We want this league to act as the sub-zonal qualifiers for the FIBA Asia Club championship instead of having one single qualifying tournament just before the continental championship.This has not happened, unfortunately, due to the political instability in the region. We are hoping we can start this very soon.The future plans…Personally, I think I have achieved what dreams I had for WABA. Now it's actually time for newer people to take over. I now have dreams for FIBA Asia. We all at FIBA Asia share the dream of an Asian team standing on the podium at the Olympics.When we started in 1998, we dreamt of a WABA team winning the Asian title. Today that has been realized. I think it's a major station in my life. Not only my basketball career, but my life in entirety.
TOKUSHIMA (FIBA Asia Championship) - This south-eastern city in the land of Awa has witnessed history being created in Asian basketball. For the first time, a team outside of the East Asia and Philippines has bagged the FIBA Asia Championship. For the first time in history, two teams from West Asia contested the final.This correspondent spoke to Hagop Khajirian, Secretary General of West Asian Basketball Association, a sub zone of FIBA Asia, on the causes, reasons and future of this ripple."Don't forget we have a third team, Jordan, in the top five," he beamed as I broached the topic during a chat moments before the final.ExcerptsTell us how it feels to have teams from WABA playing the final.
WABA teams are playing the final for the FIBA Asia Championship, no doubt it is very exciting. Words can't describe my feelings last night (Saturday). This was my personal dream when we started WABA in 1998 - a West Asian nation to win the Asian Championship.And it is the effort of each and every individual at each and every level in each and every department that has brought us to this stage. It's definitely a huge achievement for the West Asian basketball community.How did it this change happen?Before 1998, West Asian participation itself in the then ABC was marginal.It was when I led the Lebanese delegation to the 1999 Championship (in Fukuoka) did I realize that it was the 20th edition of the Championships. Which means the Championships had been going on for 40 years and we were not even there. Like I said teams would be playing on and off, but it was not organized at all.So when we formed WABA we told ourselves that we have to leave behind for our next generation what they have actually inherited as their right - to play good basketball. We couldn't get a lot of things during our playing days because of a lot of reasons. And we didn't want the next generation to suffer the same absence.It was not that basketball did not exist in our region before WABA. The pieces were already there. We just had to draw a frame and put the pieces together. It looked a big challenge initially.How did you overcome the challenges?As you are aware, a politically turbulent atmosphere is quite common in our region. But I think the perseverance of the people has paid off.In this context, I must mention that the contribution made by each National federation, each official - technical, coaching or otherwise - in each federation of the sub zone is truly invaluable.I can only congratulate my colleagues in WABA and the National federations in our sub zone for achieving what we have done today.You think WABA is an example for a subzone to achieve…Why not! We achieved all this merely because we were passionate and committed.WABA has a strong junior program. Although the FIBA Asia Junior championships are held only once in two years, WABA conducts the sub zonal championships every year. Say for example, for next year's FIBA Asia U-18 Championships we will play the qualifying tournament this year as WABA U-17 tournament. Last year this was U-16. The cumulative points from both the tournaments are taken into account for qualification for the FIBA Asia tournament.And all this happens under the supervision of very good coaches. There you have the secret for our success.Is there something that has not happened?I would be arrogant to say no.We are the first sub-zone attempting to play a sub-zonal league cutting across national boundaries. We want 10 teams to play in two groups throughout the year. We want this league to act as the sub-zonal qualifiers for the FIBA Asia Club championship instead of having one single qualifying tournament just before the continental championship.This has not happened, unfortunately, due to the political instability in the region. We are hoping we can start this very soon.The future plans…Personally, I think I have achieved what dreams I had for WABA. Now it's actually time for newer people to take over. I now have dreams for FIBA Asia. We all at FIBA Asia share the dream of an Asian team standing on the podium at the Olympics.When we started in 1998, we dreamt of a WABA team winning the Asian title. Today that has been realized. I think it's a major station in my life. Not only my basketball career, but my life in entirety.
FIBA Asia - Basketball will soon become the No 1 sport in Asia
FIBA Asia - Basketball will soon become the No 1 sport in Asia
INCHEON (FIBA Asia Championship for Women) - FIBA Asia president Sheikh Saud Bin Ali Al-Thani on Tuesday called upon his fraternity "to dedicate themselves in order to make basketball the No 1 sport in Asia." In an interview on the sidelines of the championship, the genial president declared "if we persist what we are doing with a little more perseverance, the days are not far off when basketball will become the most popular sport in the continent at all levels." "My dream is to see an Asian nation become the champion of the world among both men and women. And I'm sure we will work the hardest in turning that dream into a reality," he said. On basketball in Asia and FIBA Asia's plans for developmentIn the next few months, we'll begin to organize seminars and clinics for our zonal secretaries. That will be the first step towards drawing a blueprint for our own development program. We will also provide support for any zones or National federations intending to conduct coaching workshops and clinics. We need to gradually usher in a global system for Asian coaches. Only then we can look at any significant improvements in our standards. Thirdly, these zonal seminars will also help us work out plans to improve the standards of our referees and umpires. Only if all these three facets of the sport (administration, players & coaches and the referees) combine well, we can take basketball to the next level in Asia. Like they say, basketball on the court is a team sport. So is its development. On FIBA supportI must say it has been tremendous. FIBA in the recent times has made some very innovative moves to help the zones. Take the global marketing plan for instance. All the events in all the zones are packaged together and marketed. That makes the whole approach very comprehensive. From FIBA Asia's point of view, we can only appreciate FIBA's support. On Asia's own Pro LeagueYou see, we as a zone are pretty huge in terms of geographical distances. Travel across the zone takes a lot of time. Even for me to travel from Doha to Incheon took almost 11-12 hours. That kind of travel from one destination to another on a regular basis becomes unwieldy if you are planning a league. Hopefully, with the way things are developing in the world, travel within Asia will get faster. But we are not keeping quiet. We are encouraging each of our sub zones to have their own leagues. We will draw up a plan to integrate them into an Asian league. But we will have to give the sub-zones time for things to take shape. Some of the sub-zones are very active and the leagues are already big. In some others they are at a nascent stage. But then, things are not as easy in Asia as in other zones. So we will have to keep trying and give it time. On the hindrances faced in AsiaWar. This is an evil faced my all of mankind. We have so much trouble all the time in many places in Asia. But I'm confident better sense will prevail some time or the other and we can all live together in peace. But till then, it will be very difficult to optimize any development plan in Asia. On peace and sportThat's a very good point you have raised. I know for a fact soldiers in the Army play basketball. So I sincerely hope my sport becomes a unifier of people than dividing them. People should play basketball in order to live in peace and not for war. And I'm sure even those who are fighting will soon realize this. Sport, I think, has the great power to bring together people cutting across all differences. There are many examples in history to prove this. My personal philosophy on sport has been "Competitive on the court, friendly off it." And this is what I hope from people in FIBA Asia in particular and Asia itself in general. On KBA's centenaryI want to heartily congratulate Korean Basketball Association on its reaching 100 years. Korea has traditionally been an immense contributor to Asian basketball. Take this Championship itself for example. We have introduced so many new things at this Championship. It wouldn't have been possible without the support from KBA. So when they are celebrating something like a centenary, it automatically and obviously becomes our celebration too. Having said that, I must also mention the contribution each of our members have made and continue to make. We in FIBA Asia have always looked up to each other and stood by each other. Regardless of which country is celebrating what, I deem it as my own celebration. That's the way we have been living in FIBA Asia. We are culturally very diverse compared to any other region. Yet we work together without any problem. I think the variety is what makes us click together.
INCHEON (FIBA Asia Championship for Women) - FIBA Asia president Sheikh Saud Bin Ali Al-Thani on Tuesday called upon his fraternity "to dedicate themselves in order to make basketball the No 1 sport in Asia." In an interview on the sidelines of the championship, the genial president declared "if we persist what we are doing with a little more perseverance, the days are not far off when basketball will become the most popular sport in the continent at all levels." "My dream is to see an Asian nation become the champion of the world among both men and women. And I'm sure we will work the hardest in turning that dream into a reality," he said. On basketball in Asia and FIBA Asia's plans for developmentIn the next few months, we'll begin to organize seminars and clinics for our zonal secretaries. That will be the first step towards drawing a blueprint for our own development program. We will also provide support for any zones or National federations intending to conduct coaching workshops and clinics. We need to gradually usher in a global system for Asian coaches. Only then we can look at any significant improvements in our standards. Thirdly, these zonal seminars will also help us work out plans to improve the standards of our referees and umpires. Only if all these three facets of the sport (administration, players & coaches and the referees) combine well, we can take basketball to the next level in Asia. Like they say, basketball on the court is a team sport. So is its development. On FIBA supportI must say it has been tremendous. FIBA in the recent times has made some very innovative moves to help the zones. Take the global marketing plan for instance. All the events in all the zones are packaged together and marketed. That makes the whole approach very comprehensive. From FIBA Asia's point of view, we can only appreciate FIBA's support. On Asia's own Pro LeagueYou see, we as a zone are pretty huge in terms of geographical distances. Travel across the zone takes a lot of time. Even for me to travel from Doha to Incheon took almost 11-12 hours. That kind of travel from one destination to another on a regular basis becomes unwieldy if you are planning a league. Hopefully, with the way things are developing in the world, travel within Asia will get faster. But we are not keeping quiet. We are encouraging each of our sub zones to have their own leagues. We will draw up a plan to integrate them into an Asian league. But we will have to give the sub-zones time for things to take shape. Some of the sub-zones are very active and the leagues are already big. In some others they are at a nascent stage. But then, things are not as easy in Asia as in other zones. So we will have to keep trying and give it time. On the hindrances faced in AsiaWar. This is an evil faced my all of mankind. We have so much trouble all the time in many places in Asia. But I'm confident better sense will prevail some time or the other and we can all live together in peace. But till then, it will be very difficult to optimize any development plan in Asia. On peace and sportThat's a very good point you have raised. I know for a fact soldiers in the Army play basketball. So I sincerely hope my sport becomes a unifier of people than dividing them. People should play basketball in order to live in peace and not for war. And I'm sure even those who are fighting will soon realize this. Sport, I think, has the great power to bring together people cutting across all differences. There are many examples in history to prove this. My personal philosophy on sport has been "Competitive on the court, friendly off it." And this is what I hope from people in FIBA Asia in particular and Asia itself in general. On KBA's centenaryI want to heartily congratulate Korean Basketball Association on its reaching 100 years. Korea has traditionally been an immense contributor to Asian basketball. Take this Championship itself for example. We have introduced so many new things at this Championship. It wouldn't have been possible without the support from KBA. So when they are celebrating something like a centenary, it automatically and obviously becomes our celebration too. Having said that, I must also mention the contribution each of our members have made and continue to make. We in FIBA Asia have always looked up to each other and stood by each other. Regardless of which country is celebrating what, I deem it as my own celebration. That's the way we have been living in FIBA Asia. We are culturally very diverse compared to any other region. Yet we work together without any problem. I think the variety is what makes us click together.
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