Pro-Am Singapore Basketball League Explained

PRO-AM Singapore Basketball League
Sport:Basketball
Founded:October 10, 2013
Delta Sports and Recreation Centre[1]
Inaugural:2014
Ceo:Zoran Vasiljev
Motto:"Grassroots to Glory"
Teams:12
Countries:Singapore
Continent:FIBA Asia
Champion:Singapore Supras Basketball Club (1st title)
Most Champs:Adroit Sports Association
Falcons Basketball Club
Singapore Supras (1 title each)
Tv:VoxTV

The PRO-AM Singapore Basketball League (PRO-AM SBL) was the preeminent men's pro–am basketball league in Singapore.

Twelve clubs participated in the league's inaugural season in 2014, which culminated with Adroit Sports Association emerging as the first PRO-AM SBL champions on 29 June 2014 after they beat the LJE Bobcats with an 81–79 scoreline.[2]

History

The idea of a Pro-Am basketball league was first sparked off by Zoran Vasiljev, the founder and CEO of Affinitiv Capital LLP, a Singapore-based equity firm. The Serbian-born Singaporean, a former cager who played college basketball in the U.S as well as professionally in Europe,[3] envisioned a local basketball league which provided opportunities for personal growth and development of youth athletes while also reinforcing positive influences, self-confidence, self-esteem and the ability to excel on and off the court.[4]

The formation of a new Pro-Am league was announced on 22 December 2013. In order to fulfill this, Sportfolio Group LLP was incorporated by Vasiljev for the purpose of managing the new league.

The league tipped off officially on 12 January 2013, kick-starting a five-month competition that saw 132 games played between the 12 founding teams across multiple venues around Singapore. The inaugural season was seen by over 24,000 fans and featured 285 players from 26 countries, and was covered by most of the local media (Channel News Asia, The Straits Times, The New Paper, Today, 93.8 Live Radio and Liahne Zabao).

Teams

The Pro-Am SBL originated with 12 teams in 2013 with the initial founding teams spread across Singapore. The teams included players from all communities, including expats and import guest players.

The inaugural season was a great success, and besides receiving recognition by the FIBA and the regional basketball fraternity, the league has clearly differentiated from any other recreational or minor-league basketball organization in Singapore.

TeamLocationJoined
Adroit Sports AssociationWoodlands, Singapore2013
AMK BraveheartsAng Mo Kio, Singapore2014
Falcons Basketball ClubCentral, Singapore2014
Eunos United Basketball ClubEunos, Singapore2015
GHUB Basketball ClubQueenstown, Singapore2015
Zeagues Basketball AcademyOrchard, Singapore2014
Tagawa Basketball ClubSingapore2015
Singapore SuprasSingapore2013
SinKee BasketballJoo Chiat, Singapore2013
SG Basketball ClubSingapore2015
SAFSASingapore2014
PROFORM Basketball ClubSingapore2014

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Big Win for Adroit, Hornets and Siglap in Opening Day . VoxSports . 2014-08-26.
  2. Web site: Adroit pulls off stunning comeback to claim Pro-Am League . VoxSports . 2014-07-05.
  3. Web site: Basketball: Pro-Am league will return . AsiaOne . 2014-07-02.
  4. Web site: About Pro-Am SBL . Pro-Am SBL . 2014-08-27.