KUALA LUMPUR, 2 September 2010 (Press Release) – AirAsia announced today that the airline is the new title sponsor for the ASEAN Basketball League’s (ABL) 2010 / 2011 season. The eagerly anticipated second season of ABL is set to start on 2 October 2010 and playoffs to begin in February 2011.
AirAsia’s partnership with the ABL will definitely add vigour to the sport by sharing its passionate, successful and innovative traits. As an instantly recognizable brand — especially in the ASEAN region — and with a vast following, The AirAsia ABL is set to be a potent combination and hopefully generate further interest from fans of the sport across the region and beyond.
This is not the first time for AirAsia to be a part of the ABL. The airline was the official carrier for the ABL’s 2009 / 2010 season, flying participating teams and fans to competition venues around the ASEAN region.
AirAsia Group CEO Dato’ Sri Dr. Tony Fernandes said, “We are very excited for the new season to arrive and proud to be back in the ABL with a bigger role by being the title sponsor for the 2010 / 2011 season. As an ASEAN airline, it is our obligation to help develop the standard and quality of sports in the region. The region has a lot of untapped young talents but limited opportunities are available for them to progress further in their respective fields.
“When given the opportunity to be the title sponsor, we seized it immediately as we believe we can positively contribute to the development of the sport and provide the platform for ASEAN youths to shine. Together with our other initiatives in the region, the AirAsia ABL seemed the perfect fit. It is indeed our dream to see ASEAN as a powerhouse not only in sports but other important fields as well in the near future. We will continue to do our part to make this dream a reality,” Fernandes said.
The ASEAN Basketball League announced the official launch of its second season in Jakarta on 23 August 2010, with the new campaign to kick off with six teams with a new participant, Thailand Cobras, replacing last season’s Thailand Tigers.
The league format will kick off on 2 October this year with matches being played in Thailand, Singapore and Philippines. The playoff Finals are scheduled to begin in February. The format will be maintained from last season which will be in the form of triple home and away for the league stages with a best of 3 series for the play offs including the finals.
CEO of ASEAN Basketball League Kuhan Foo said, “AirAsia’s has always shared the ABL’s drive to make a positive change in ASEAN sports development. This synergy in a shared dream to unite South East Asia through sports is a passion that both AirAsia and the ABL stand united on. There are currently some programs that we will be introducing in the near future that will bring this dream closer to the masses in the months to come.”
The ABL continues to push the boundaries of developing the sport of basketball in the region with many precedents set in the previous season. Many of the best national players in South East Asia were given a minimum 4 and half months of very high level competition last season compared to many national leagues in South East Asia which run for one month on average.
Besides the ASEAN Basketball League, AirAsia is also dynamically supporting other sports as well. The airline, together with Sepang International Circuit (SIC), is currently sponsoring an ASEAN rider to compete in this year’s MotoGP World Championship. Malaysian Muhammad Zulfahmi Khairuddin is racing under Team AirAsia – SIC colours in the 125cc class of the world championship, and doing well in his first season with 3 championship points under his belt.
Additionally, the AirAsia Asean Driver Development initiative, launched earlier in the year has gone from strength to strength by providing a fantastic platform for the two drivers Nabil Jeffri (Malaysia) and Daim Hishamuddin (Singapore) to progress in their field of Motorsports.
Pingback: AirAsia Asean Basketball League - Dragons lose to Slingers | SUPERADRIANME