Monday, September 06, 1999

MORE FROM ASIA

ASIA ALL-STAR ROSTER SET
Rosters for October 6th exhibition game in Guangzou, China between Asia All-Star Team and China NT was set after the tournament. 13 players selected for the Asia All-Star Team are:

Cheng Chih-Lung, Taiwan(192, F/G)
Lo Shing-Liang, Taiwan(182, G)
Seo Jang-Hoon, South Korea(207, C)
Hur Jae, South Korea(190, G)
Ali Al-Maghrabi, Saudi Arabia
Yasser Ahmad Al-Hage, Lebanon(198, F/C)
Walid Al-Domiati, Lebanon(179, G)
Romel Adducul, Philippines(190, F)
Michael Takahashi, Japan(198, F)
Takehiko Omiro, Japan(190, G)
Choi Fung-Yue, Hong Kong(200, F)
Yaseem Mahmoud, Qatar(206, C)
Osama Mubarak, Kuwait(?, ?)
Head Coach:Cheung Tai-Wing, Hong Kong

CHENG CHIH-LUNG TO PLAY IN CHINA?
Rumors said it's highly possible that Cheng Chih-Lung, who's the hottest player pursuit by several pro clubs in the Asian Championship, may decide to play in China next season. Cheng's contract with Taiwan's Hong-kuo Elephant had expired in the end of August and Hong-kuo's management hasn't approached Cheng for any re-negotiation yet. In the same time, Taiwan's pro league CBA is still in the LOCKOUT period--although it had announced for coming back in January next year. It's believed Cheng, who's now 30, will make the best career choice in the coming months. Taiwan local papers reported Cheng will sign with Hilton League's Shanghai Sharks, where China's 7-6 giant Yao Ming is playing. Taiwan NT 198cm center Chu Chih-Chin was also possible to make the move from Taiwan to China, rumors said.

ABA BEGINS ACTION IN 2000
Asian Basketball Association(ABA), a orginization trying to integrate Asian professional teams held a meeting in Fukuoka, Japan on September 5th and decided to start play in June, 2000.

Tentative results of the meeting decided to field six teams, including Taiwan, China, South Korea, Japan, Philippines and Hong Kong All-Star, in next year's schedule. Games will be played in Taipei, Seoul, Manila, Tokyo and Hong Kong. Each matchup features two games, one at home and one on the road. It means every team has 10 games to play.

In the preliminary schedule, the opening game will be on June 10 and the All-Star Game is scheduled on July 12.

In June and July, ABA played four rounds of promotion games in Sunjung (China), Zhongsan(China), Tokyo(Japan) and Taipei(Taiwan) with China NT dominating with a 9-1 records. The ABA is head by a group of Asian basketball officials from different countries, including current FIBA vice president Chin Man-Kee(Hong Kong).