Taiwan Hoops Teams Mothballed With Rest Of ABL

ABL Statement In Full

In a statement released late Friday by the ASEAN Basketball League, Chief Operating Officer Jericho Iiagan responded to the ongoing coronavirus, COVID-19 outbreak by essentially mothballing East Asia’s premier international basketball set-up..

The league first postponed games as early as February 8th, in areas directly affected by COVID-19, and in the three weeks since February 23rd, has allowed just one game to go ahead.

Somewhat vague in its wording, no estimated date on when the league would resume operations was provided, with fans having to make do with the phrase ” We were treated to amazing games and we met new heroes on the hardcourt. But now, we have to press pause”.

The ASEAN Basketball League is a 10 member league with teams from Hong Kong, Macau (2), Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore. Taiwan (2), Thailand. and Vietnam.

Both Taiwanese teams, the Fubon Braves, and the Formosa Dreamers were in the top five when games were suspended

Fans of the league are advised to keep an eye on the social media accounts of the ABL or individual teams regarding any resumption of play in the weeks and months ahead.

Mark Buckton

Mark is a journalism vet of 20 years with most of those years spent in Tokyo, Japan, as a columnist for The Japan Times and numerous other publications. His work has appeared on CNN, in the BBC, NPR, and in several dozen other media forms and publications across five continents.