Hence, we seek to create one collective league, a women's basketball league for Southeast AsiaJakarta (ANTARA) - The International Basketball Federation (FIBA) has approved the Indonesian Basketball Association's (Perbasi's) proposal to organize a women’s basketball league for the Southeast Asian region to develop women's basketball athletes.
This was confirmed by Perbasi's secretary general, Nirmala Dewi, after a series of meetings with FIBA Asia in Bangkok on Friday.
The proposal was driven by the lack of women's basketball competitions, not just in Indonesia, but also in Southeast Asian countries, she informed at a virtual press conference on Friday.
"Hence, we seek to create one collective league, a women's basketball league for Southeast Asia," she said.
Secretary general of Southeast Asia Basketball Association (SEABA), Agus Mauro, said that the number of women's leagues is low since they lack the prestige of men’s leagues.
Therefore, FIBA ASIA and the Southeast Asian countries’ national federations support holding a women’s basketball competition in ASEAN.
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Meanwhile, Christopher Tanuwidjaja, the initiator of the women’s basketball competition in Southeast Asia, said that the event for this year's first season will only be participated by basketball clubs from four countries.
The countries comprise Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand. Moreover, the league is scheduled to begin in November.
The competition will have a series format, with the first series held in Indonesia followed by the second series in Malaysia.
"We expect that the closing series or what is commonly called the play-off can be held in Singapore, and we will schedule all of this to start in November 2022," he informed.
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Moreover, a selection will be held to choose the best players for the competition that can strengthen the Indonesian team, he said.
"We will select by calling players who have participated in the SEA Games in Vietnam, in addition to several age group players," he explained.
The women’s competition will be reserved for senior players and domestic players will be prioritized for the national team guidance program at the senior level, he added.
"Our agenda is to bring our best athletes to compete there," he said.
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Translator: Shofi Ayudiana, Fadhli Ruhman
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
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