MABA seek new direction

THE Malaysia Basketball Association (Maba) are set for a wave of change when their delayed annual general meeting (AGM) gets underway on July 19.

Maba's AGM was initially set for April but it was pushed back due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the subsequent Movement Control Order (MCO).

Pesident Datuk Lua Choon Hann announced that he will not be seeking re-election, having placed himself on gardening leave due to last year's flag controversy during the National Under-15 Championships.

Deputy president Datuk Tan Kang Yong is set to step up as the association's new head, pending the outcome of the AGM on July 19.

The president-elect intends to revise Maba's mission of making basketball a sport that unites whilst also tackling the challenges of grassroots development and professional growth.

"It's regretful that Malaysian basketball has fallen behind quite a lot in comparison to other Asian countries," said Kang Yong, also the president of the Melaka Basketball Association.

"Maba's mission is to unite all races in Malaysia through the sport. I hope to bring that about again by making basketball a sport for everyone, just like badminton.

"Unfortunately, due to the pandemic, half the year has already gone, and next season is already a Sea Games year in which there will be certain expectations.

"The short-term goal is to do well at the Sea Games, but it is also important that we get our affiliates actively involved in the sport once again.

"And to achieve that and to make basketball popular again, I hope to organise our national-level tournaments in the states, instead of having it in Kuala Lumpur.

"A medium-term plan would be to improve the standard of our men and women's national teams for the next four years."

Currently, the Agong Cup National Championships and national age-group tournaments are all held at the Maba Stadium in KL.

Kang Yong said the grassroots development plan would be to go out to the states instead of training the next batch of players in Maba.

"I am not keen to bring talented teens into Maba for our youth team training because I am not convinced it's the best development growth for them," said Kang Yong.

"Instead, I would prefer if the coaches head out to the states for talent identification and training camps. We will only bring players in for a focused training camp if we are preparing for a major tournament.

"That way we can better coordinate with the state development coaches whilst also spotting new and hungry talent along the way."

Kang Yong added that he was keen to re-brand the league so that it would encourage players to take up the sport as a profession.

"A league needs to be run over three to six months, ideally, and we definitely need the sponsorships and branding if we are to promote professional basketball here.

"Currently, we do not have enough teams nor do we have sufficient quality."

A change is certainly welcomed as Malaysian basketball has fallen way behind Thailand and Indonesia, who have gone on to achieve greater heights in recent years.

It certainly is a far cry from Maba's original vision — which was to be a top-four Asian country by this year.

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