appConfigEntityId

bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

isVideo

articlePageQuery

article

articleSchemaContent

content

hooksArticlePageAdvertisementConfigArticle

hooksArticlePageFloatingButtonConfigArticle

appConfig

filter

json

liveArticle

Mike Chan

Naturalising players, hiring overseas coaches and improving the standard and scale of local basketball could “save” the sport in Hong Kong, players, basketball officials and executives said on Thursday.
Earlier this week, the city’s men’s and women’s teams discovered their regional rankings of 26th and 21st respectively were not good enough to get them into the Asian Games in Japan.
It will be the first time in more than 30 years that the men have missed the Games. For the women, it would have been a fourth consecutive appearance dating back to their debut in Incheon in 2014.
Benny Chau Chi-yan, general manager of the city’s youth team, said naturalising players would be one way to lift the teams.
“We had been and are still working on a few names,” said Chau, who is also a vice-president of the Basketball Association of Hong Kong, China. “We knew this was one way to lift our team to a higher level, to bring us on par with the other teams in the region.

“But there are limitations. Speeding up the processes might not be possible because everything was written in the Basic Law – the seven-year permanent residency requirement is right there.”
He added that “it’s also difficult to hire an overseas coach because [the government’s terms] require a coach to sit in an office from nine to five, but we always train at night”.
Former national team player and current assistant coach Lee Ki added that other countries were subsidised by the government when naturalising players, pointing out also that the local association was “slow to react” to the evolving trend around the region.
“Qatar was probably the first and only one to naturalise players back in 2014 … The other countries realised they were not competitive when Australia and New Zealand joined Fiba Asia in 2017,” Li said, adding “we did not do anything back then”.
In March 2018, Hong Kong were ranked 14th, but dropped to 20 by the end of the year and have never recovered, falling to No 27 in September 2022.
Only 12 teams will play in Japan.

National team veteran Leung Shiu-wah believed expanding the league to play more than “merely 20 matches a season” would help raise the standard of the players and the league.
“There are not enough matches, and we need to play more often to improve, otherwise we would just be practising with our teammates,” said the local A1 Division Winling forward.
However, Chau said expanding the amateur local league was not “like switching on a light”.
“More matches mean more practice, but most of our players have a proper job that they need to make a living with,” he said. “And then the lack of courts would be another issue; doubling the number of matches basically means doubling the government’s subsidy for venues.”
Despite the limitations, basketball executive Henry Kerins believed the future of basketball in Hong Kong remained “extremely strong” after the Hong Kong Jockey Club pledged HK$3 billion (US$384.6 million) into the sport in the city for the next couple of years.

“There is a huge commitment to the development of basketball; there was more investment in the past two years than almost the past 10 combined,” said the East Asia Super League CEO. “Previously, we never had a premium arena like Kai Tak [Arena]; we never had a professional club that played in the Chinese League like the Hong Kong Bulls.
“These have all happened very recently, and those dividends will take time to pay out. Organisationally, we have to get better to attract overseas talents to come back.”
Kerins added that “it’s a hard fact and not an anecdotal thing” that basketball is growing in Hong Kong, and the investment is getting larger than ever.
“We’re just getting started in terms of real grass roots investment and development in basketball across Hong Kong. The reality is that we’ve never seen such a large sort of momentum in the basketball space in Hong Kong in the past 15, 20 years,” he said.
“There are necessary changes that have to happen, but these will naturally happen as the sport accelerates with all of these new investments and new energy around it.”


China’s basketball men warm up for World Cup qualifiers with back-to-back losses

Foreign player with CBA champions Shanghai Sharks faces 2-year ban after doping violation

After missing out on Giannis trade, Brown offers services to China clubs for US$400 million

Promotion, relegation system to return to China’s basketball leagues, sources say

Basketball Association of Hong Kong, China

What now for Hong Kong basketball? Naturalised players, expanded league among suggestions

Hong Kong’s Tsang Cham-yuen tries to shoot against New Zealand’s Taylor Britt during their Fiba Asia Cup qualifier in February last year. Photo: Elson Li

The Hong Kong women’s ranking of 21 was not good enough for the Asian Games. Photo: Getty Images

Hong Kong veteran Leung Shiu-wah says expanding the league would raise standards. Photo: Handout

East Asia Super League CEO Henry Kerins says the game remains “extremely strong”. Photo: Handout

Hong Kong basketball players ‘sad but not surprised’ after learning about Games axe

Glen Yang was called up for Hong Kong training even though officials may have known the city would not be playing at the Asian Games this year. Photo: EASL

Hong Kong’s Tsz Kwan Li (left) said missing out on the Asian Games was ‘quite discouraging’. Photo: Yik Yeung-man

Uncertainty surrounds Tai Po future as owners consider pulling plug on football club

Francis Yip addresses players and staff following Tai Po’s league defeat by Southern on Saturday. Photo: Eugene Lee

A handful of Tai Po fans greet the players ahead of Saturday’s match. Photo: Eugene Lee

Catherine and Francis Yip join Tai Po players, staff and fans to celebrate beating Cong An Hanoi. Photo: Elson Li

Sport

Hong Kong

Basketball

City teams’ failure to make the cut for Asian Games will mean a rethink on how to improve the sport – but it may not be all doom and gloom


City teams’ failure to make the cut for Asian Games will mean a rethink on how to improve the sport – but it may not be all doom and gloom.


Hong Kong Jockey Club

East Asia Super League

What now for Hong Kong basketball? Naturalised players, expanded league among suggestions

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}City teams’ failure to make the cut for Asian Games will mean a rethink on how to improve the sport – but it may not be all doom and gloom

City teams’ failure to make the cut for Asian Games will mean a rethink on how to improve the sport – but it may not be all doom and gloom