Shooting for the stars

It’s not an impossible dream for Asia to become No. 1 in world basketball. Or at least that’s what Asian Basketball Confederation (ABC) secretary-general Dato Yeoh Choo Hock claims.

"That’s our goal in the ABC," says Yeoh, a former educator who has been involved in hoops for over 40 years. "With 2/3 of the world’s population in Asia, we should be in the top four or five in the world. Our problem isn’t in the number of players because we’ve got a lot. And it isn’t the quality of our game."

Yeoh, 58, says more Asian countries should be given the opportunity to play in the Olympics and the World Championships.

At the Sydney Olympics last year, South Korea shocked oddsmakers by beating France to qualify for the semis. The Koreans held the highly-touted US team to a 41-all standoff at the half before succumbing in what turned out to be the Americans’ biggest scare in the tournament. The US eventually won the gold, Australia the silver and Brazil the bronze. South Korea, the only Asian entry (there were five European teams), wound up fourth.

The moment of truth will come at the 14th World Championships for Women in China on Sept. 14-25 as three Asian teams are booked to compete. South Korea, Japan, and host China are playing in the 16-team meet.

Two Asian teams – China and Lebanon – will represent the zone at the 14th World Championships for Men in Indianapolis on Aug. 29 to Sept. 8. While 16 teams qualify for the World Championships, only 12 make it to the Olympics. According to Yeoh, the Olympic qualifiers are the top five teams in the previous World Championships, the host country, the previous Olympic gold medallist, and a representative from each International Basketball Federation (FIBA) zone.

Since his election as ABC secretary-general in 1998, Yeoh has worked tirelessly to promote the game throughout the region. He enlisted Nepal, Maldives, and Mongolia to boost the ABC membership roster to 44 nations. While visiting Mongolia to conduct a hoops clinic with former Louisiana State University coach Dale Brown last year, Yeoh "discovered" 7-foot Sharavjamts Tserenjanhor. Brown took the 27-year-old center, whom he nicknamed The Shark, to the US and got him a spot on the Harlem Globetrotters. Yeoh has also distributed coaching manuals to several ABC countries, organized a slew of seminars for sports administrators, coaches, and referees, and coordinated the staging of the Champions Cup, SEA Games, East Asian Games, ABC Championships, and other tournaments.

Yeoh played for the Malaysian national team in 1963 then turned to coaching before joining the Malaysia Basketball Association (MABA) in 1983. He was a teacher, a lecturer at the Teachers College, and a school inspector while dabbling in coaching. In 1989, Yeoh and Fong Kheng Chong coached Malaysia to its second and last SEA Games gold medal in basketball at the Philippines’ expense. A year later, he became the MABA secretary-general.

For his contributions to sports and in recognition of his stature as a national figure, Yeoh was conferred a Datoship – the equivalent of knighthood – or the award of Darjah Indera Mahkota Pahang by his Royal Highness Sultan Pahang Darul Makmur, on the King’s 70th birthday in October 2000. Yeoh says no one knew about the conferment except his wife before the news came out in the Malaysian papers.

At the SEA Games last year, Yeoh relates that he set up a giant TV monitor outside the 3,000-seat basketball stadium for at least 700 Filipino fans who couldn’t get in because tickets were sold out. He says the Filipinos’ passion for the game is a source of inspiration.

"Sometimes, we organize Filipino leagues in Kuala Lumpur," says Yeoh. "Whenever Filipinos play in Malaysia, it’s like a stadium is in Manila. It’s the same anywhere in the world. I once watched a game in a Filipino league in New Jersey and the atmosphere was also like in Manila."

Yeoh says the Philippines is in a class by itself in the SEA Games. "No need for PBA players because the gap would be too big," he notes. "But it’s wide open for the silver medal."

Yeoh says basketball has brought countries and people together. That’s why he believes in the FIBA slogan "Solidarity through basketball." As an example, he cites the Polish Ambassador to Malaysia Marek Pazuka who was once a FIBA referee. The Ambassador even attended the MABA Commissioners Clinic for an update on FIBA rules last year. Yeoh also organized a 3-on-3 event with the theme "Play for Peace" to celebrate the United Nations’ (UN) Earthday and donated balls and books, in the ABC’s behalf, to East Timor through the UN.

Would he consider a career in politics?

"No, no, no," he replies. "You can do more through sports."