Taiwan - Wednesday and Friday night double-headers this week taught us quite a bit about how the rest of the season is shaping up. The most interesting game was the Yulon vs. Bank of Taiwan match-up on Wednesday. This marked our first chance to see Yulon in action without Tseng Wen-ting manning the middle. The results were not pretty, as BoT easily handled Yulon.

Despite losing to Taiwan Beer Wednesday night, KKL was competitive the whole game. Shawn Hawkins seems to be finding his footing (and his jumpshot) and they are falling into a nice rhythm. The positive results continued on Friday night as KKL beat Taiwan Mobile to move out of the cellar.

In the other game on Friday Pure Youth pulled out a close game against Dacin in a battle between 2nd and 3rd place teams. Jones-Jennings had another massive game with 22 points and 25 rebounds. This guy really deserves a bigger contract in the future.

Japan - In JBL news, Aishin came away with the Emperor's Cup title. Regularly season action now finally resumes this week. In less positive news, the JBL has taken over the Hokkaido-based Rera Kamuy franchise after the team's ownership failed to pay multiple league fees and broke numerous league policies. They have fired coach Joe Bryant as part of the restructuring as well (aka cost cutting measures). In my opinion, this opens the door for the bj-league to enter into the Hokkaido market. As Niigata has shown, a team that struggled financially in the JBL can operate successfully in the bj-league.

The bj-league All-Star Game is this weekend. Hopefully I can put up highlights from the game soon.

Korea - As I predicted a few weeks back the the Samsung Thunder are making a push to join the group of teams at the top of the league standings. After a tough overtime loss to KCC Egis, Samsung has pulled off three wins a row, including a 15 point victory over 1st place Sonic Boom KT. With Aaron Haynes' continued all-around superb play, Samsung looks to make the league a four team race.

Philippines - Game one of the PBA Philippines Cup is tonight as the Beermen take on the Texters for the title. The teams split their two meetings earlier this year. The teams both field a balanced attack with multiple players capable of exploding for big games. Should be a fun series to watch!

ASEAN - Semi-Finals action this weekend. I am excited to watch the Patriots (and one of my favorites Gabe Freeman) take on the Dragons. The Dragons have an interior-focused offense now while the Patriots play a fast-paced style. It should be an interesting contrast.

CHINA - Is it weird that I was more excited to watch Lester Hudson play in China than I am to watch Rafer Alston? Hudson is averaging 23.3 ppg in his first three games, and Guangdong has won two of those games. Looks like Chinese teams are starting to figure out which kind of import is successful in their league.

Alex Hartman is done for the season with the ASEAN Basketball League's Westport KL Dragons. On the team website the Dragons' management explained that "he has been having some issues with his form of late, we had to do what is best for the team." Hartman has been off the past three games, but his season averages are virtually identical to his averages last year when he helped lead Satria Muda to a surprise runner-up finish.

With only three games left before the playoffs this is the same kind of move teams pulled last year. While I am all for winning, I also feel strongly that the ABL needs to work harder to build fan connections to players. That is not going to happen when you are releasing one of your most popular players with a month left in the season and bringing in a player who no one in Asia has ever heard of. No matter how good he is, that is not the way to connect fans with the players. Plus, do you really need another inside player when Nakiea Miller is leading the league in rebounds and blocks?

The best part though is that Hartman will be staying in Malaysia through the end of the season. I imagine that they were locked into paying him so have decided to keep him around. As explained by a Dragons official on the team's facebook page: "Hartman is and will always be a DragonForce. He's not on the squad but he's still around assisting the team with training and gameplays. Hartman will be around till the end of the season."

The one thing I have enjoyed as this story has unfolded are the comments from fans on the team's facebook page. Hartman is a popular player, and there are a number of dissatisfied fans. I am happy to see that the Dragons have a fan base that cares about what is going on with their team. That says a lot about the future of this young league.

A good article about Justin Lieth, the new import can be found here.

Last year I started watching the PBA regularly for the first time in a decade. The PBA is perhaps the most amusing league to watch in the entire world if you can train yourself to suspend reality and forget about everything you have ever learned about fundamentally sound basketball. Anyway, last year I got the biggest kick out of watching Gabe Freeman play for both the Patriots in the ASEAN Basketball League and the San Miguel Beermen in the PBA. Freeman is the perfect import for the PBA as there is nothing Filipino fans enjoy more than passionate and hustle-filled basketball. Freeman is one part Artest, another part Rodman, and another part scoring machine without a jump shot (kind of like glory days Larry Hughes). While this may not sound enticing to anyone who knows basketball, it makes for the most entertaining import in the league. The best part is that no one seems to care that he can't shoot from the outside and is both foul and turnover prone. I think his San Miguel coach Siot Tanquingcen put it best when he paid Freeman the ultimate back-handed compliment: "He is not the most talented skill-wise . . . but you can't measure his heart!"

I am looking forward to at least five more ABL games with Freeman this year. Unfortunately if the reports are true, Freeman is well above the 6'4" height limit for the next PBA conference. Let's hope he has "shrunk" a little over the past year!

Two articles were published yesterday on the NBL website that discuss the impending election for the Head of the Indonesian Basketball Association during the organization’s annual meetings on December 13th and 14th. It is no surprise that Azrul Ananda, the CEO of the DBL and NBL is the forerunner to take this post. It is reported that he has the support of many of the regional basketball associations already. The Head of the West Kalimantan Basketball Association is quoted as saying, “Ananda is totally committed to the advancement of basketball in his home country.

Three main reasons were given in the articles for why Ananda would be the right choice. First, Ananda has never held political office and does not have any party affiliation. In a country like Indonesia, where party politics often trumps all else, Ananda’s neutrality could protect the basketball association from being used a political piece. Second, Ananda has shown his ability to lead in both the DBL and NBL. The DBL is by far the most successful basketball organization in the history of Indonesia, and the first two months of the NBL have been successful as well. Lastly, Ananda has orchestrated the visits of numerous people associated with the NBA, both helping to develop Indonesian players and strengthen connections to the greater basketball world. In the past, Indonesia’s basketball scene has only sporadically been on the world’s radar.

Ananda is not without competition for the post. His most formidable opponent is Anggito Abimanyu, a man with an impressive resume in his own right. He currently serves as the Acting Head of the Agency for Fiscal Analysis of the Ministry of Finance, while also working as a lecturer in economics at Gajah Mada University. He also sits on the board of PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia Tbk., and used to hold a similar role at both Bank Lippo and Bank International Indonesia. According to the Republika newspaper Abimanyu says he has always had a love for the game of basketball, and is looking to create a more seamless integration of the various levels and constituents in the Indonesian basketball community.

Essentially both men are qualified for this position and look to have good ideas about how to progress the game further in Indonesia. The vote will seemingly come down to the same struggles Indonesia faces in so many areas: business vs. political and new guard vs. old guard.

Either way, this person will join Erick Thohir as the main force behind the development of Indonesia’s basketball in the near future. Hopefully they make the right, whoever that is.

To begin I must throw out the disclaimer that I am fan of the ASEAN Basketball League. I am a fan for two main reasons. First, I love basketball. I love basketball so much I will sit in a gym for hours to watch 3rd Graders play the game. I love basketball. Second, growing up in Indonesia I always thought basketball should have a bigger place in the sporting culture of the country, and the region. People all over Southeast Asia seemed to love basketball, but outside of the Philippines and to a lesser extent Indonesia no one seemed to be playing the game competitively. The ABL filled this void.

But being a fan means I really care about the league and want to see it do well. Sometimes those of us who are the biggest fans end up being the ones who are most critical. I am going to be balanced though. Mimicking the style of the weekly Yahoo wrap-up of NFL action, here is my list of “5 Things I Love and 5 Things I Loathe” about the ABL 2010-2011 season.

1)      I loathe . . . the small crowds in some of the arenas. How in the world is an arena in a city the size of Bangkok so empty? There must be 3,000-4,000 basketball fans out there willing to come to a game!

2)     I love . . . that there has been no talk about players not getting paid this season. The Thailand Cobras issues last year were unfortunate and luckily there seems to be no repeat this season.

3)      I loathe . . . the lack of expansion. While expanding too quickly would be worse, I was looking forward to a few more teams, including a squad in Vietnam this season. Maybe next year?

4)      I love . . . how much clearer the league standings are this years. Thank you ABL for no longer giving a team a point for each loss. While making the league look more equal is a nice intention, rewarding teams for failure was just silly.

5)      I loathe . . . the timing of the season. Competing against the PBA Philippine Cup and the NBL in Indonesia means you are fighting for fans in your two largest markets! Plus, the Filipino player quality in the ABL is less and some of Satria Muda’s best players are kept out of the ABL. Is it any wonder Satria Muda is in last place this year? Faisal Julius Achmad and Rony Gunawan could have really helped the team.

6)      I love . . . how there has been less player movement this year. For the most part the rosters have been static meaning I actually know the players this year. It seemed like a game of musical chairs at times last year.

7)      I loathe . . . that at times it seems like I am watching another Filipino league. Are 3 ASEAN imports per team necessary?

8)     I love . . . the partnership with FIBA TV. Last year I was only able to watch one game from Taiwan. I have already watched six games this year. Thanks for letting those fans outside of the region feel connected!

9)      I loathe . . . that I still do not understand the grand vision of the league. Are these All-Star teams or club teams? Repositioning the dates of the league may help clear this up, but for now I feel like we are in a limbo state between those two areas.

10)  I love . . . the fact that it is Year 2 of the league and it looks like Year 3 is a lock for next year. New basketball leagues pop up and fold all over the world, but it looks like the ABL is on the right track for long term success.

In the end love wins out. I know for a fact that 14 year old me would have loved the ABL, and in the end I think that says more about the league than anything else.