The 2012 ASEAN Basketball League season was the third season of competition of the ASEAN Basketball League (ABL) since its establishment. A total of eight teams will compete the league. The regular season will begin on 16 January 2012 and will end on 13 May 2012. Three teams will debut this season: the Bangkok Cobras, the San Miguel Beermen and the SSA Saigon Heat, while the Brunei Barracudas team took a leave of absence. Satria Muda BritAma was renamed into the Indonesia Warriors, while the Westports KL Dragons were renamed as the Westports Malaysia Dragons, and Singapore Slingers were renamed Jobstreet.com Singapore Slingers.
The season was delayed until January 2012 to give way to the Southeast Asian Games.
Preseason The ABL underwent expansion with three new teams debuting. The San Miguel Beermen signed a five-year contract with the league; this is a different team from the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) team owned by San Miguel Corporation that now carries the Petron Blaze Boosters name. Bobby Parks was named as the head coach.
Bangkok Basketball Holdings were the second team to join the league. The team will be the second Thai team, after the defending champions Chang Thailand Slammers. The third team to join the league was SSA Saigon Heat organised by the Saigon Sports Academy. The Heat are the first international basketball team to represent Vietnam.
The Brunei Barracudas, a team that has failed to make it to the playoffs in the league's first two seasons, has decided not participate in the 2012 season. While no reason was given, the team has heavily relied on its starting five, who are all imports, to play the game in its entirety.
Six of the eight teams participated in the To Be Number One Basketball Challenge held in Bangkok in benefit of the victims of the 2011 Thailand floods. The San Miguel Beermen defeated the AirAsia Philippine Patriots to win the championship. In 2012, the Beermen, the Patriots and the Qatari team Al -Jaysh will participate in another preseason tournament at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig.
Arenas
Team Location Arena Head coachPhilippine Patriots San JuanPasig San Juan GymYnares Sports Arena Glenn CapacioBangkok Cobras Bangkok Chulalongkorn University Gym* Joe BryantThailand Slammers Bangkok Thai-Japanese Gym* Felton SealeyIndonesia Warriors North JakartaBandung The BritAma ArenaGOR C-Tra Arena John Todd PurvesSaigon Heat Ho Chi Minh City Tan Binh Gymnasium Jason RabedeauxSan Miguel Beermen PasigParañaque Ynares Sports ArenaOlivarez College Gym Bobby ParksSingapore Slingers Singapore Singapore Indoor Stadium Neo Beng SiangWestports Malaysia Dragons Kuala Lumpur MABA Stadium Ariel Vanguardia*these are indoor arenas located adjacent to the outdoor stadiums.
Standings #TeamGPWLPFPAPDPts1 San Miguel Beermen 21 17 4 1678 1475 +203 342 Philippine Patriots 21 16 5 1697 1580 +117 323 Indonesia Warriors 21 12 9 1623 1507 +116 244 Westports Malaysia Dragons 21 11 10 1775 1726 +49 225 Singapore Slingers 21 9 12 1536 1536 0 186 Saigon Heat 21 8 13 1424 1571 −147 167 Bangkok Cobras 21 6 15 1446 1650 −204 128 Thailand Slammers 21 5 16 1493 1627 −134 10
Results Score of the home team is listed first. In case where a game went into overtime, the number of asterisks denotes the number of overtime periods played.
First and second round
Third round
Statistical leaders Category Player Team StatPoints Tiras Wade Westports Malaysia Dragons 26.05Rebounds Steven Thomas Indonesia Warriors 14.79Assists Al Vergara Philippine Patriots 4.90Steals Louis Graham San Miguel Beermen 2.00Blocks Nakiea Miller Philippine Patriots 2.84
Playoffs
Semifinals The semi-finals is a best-of-three series, with the higher seeded team hosting game 1, and 3 if necessary.
Finals The finals is a best-of-three series, with the higher seeded team hosting game 1, and 3 if necessary.
The two teams already qualified for the 2012 FIBA Asia Champions Cup in Lebanon. However the two teams ultimately did not took part.
References
External links Official website