Basketball chief throws weight behind East Asia Super League, says no real prospect of rival competition going ahead
- Fiba executive director Hagop Khajirian reiterates governing body’s commitment to new regional tournament, highlights ‘exclusive relationship’
- Businessman Jay Li has been pushing his Project REAL idea as a legitimate alternative to super league
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Basketball officials have poured water on a Chinese businessman’s attempts to launch a regional competition, and said he should focus on cooperating within the sport’s established league structure.
Jay Li Jintian has been shopping his Rising East Asia League (REAL) as a potential competitor to the Fiba-backed East Asia Super League, which includes the Hong Kong franchise Bay Area Dragons.
The EASL has an exclusive relationship with the world governing body, and partnership agreements with the main professional leagues in Japan, Korea and the Philippines.
In an exclusive interview with the Post, Hagop Khajirian, the International Basketball Federation’s (Fiba) executive director for Asia, said EASL was the “only adopted league for the region”, adding the East Asia Basketball Association (Eaba), which answers to Fiba but has been working with Li on his project, was “impeded to set up such a league”.
“It’s well-known that Fiba has granted exclusive recognition to EASL to operate an international club competition with the top clubs from national leagues and federations in Fiba’s East Asia sub-zone and the Philippines,” Khajirian said.
“It is not possible to recognise Project REAL, or any other similar project as per the current contractual framework.”
Vicky Wu, secretary general of EABA, said her organisation’s only desire was to “evaluate the status of current international club competition in the region and to come up with an improved sustainable plan”.
She also revealed that Khajirian had said his organisation would “closely monitoring developments including to reassess its position based on evolving circumstances”.
Wu’s comments hint at some of the concerns surrounding EASL’s finances, with one document the Post has seen referencing outstanding payments dating to the competition’s Champions Week, which was held in Japan in March.
According to sources within the league, it has been given until Tuesday to make good on the significant amount of money said to be owed.
Khajirian also wrote to Li last month, sending what amounted to a request to stop talking, while reminding the entrepreneur of assurances he had given at a meeting in Manila to “talk to the EASL and seek a collaboration with them”.
The letter, which was sent on July 21, also chastised Li for comments he had made regarding his project, telling him that “going ahead with public statements of a new league called REAL without the approval of Fiba is not how we operate”.
In response to Li’s challenge, EASL said they had talked to him at the start of the year about potential investment in the league and accused the businessman of “weaponising confidential information” he’d been given as part of those talks to “form a competing entity”.
Calling the matter “highly regrettable”, Matt Beyer, the league’s CEO, said Li’s actions violated “confidentiality with EASL, as well as interferes with agreements between EASL and FIBA, and other partner leagues”.
Asked by the Post if he had broken any formal agreement not to disclose the information, Li said “no”.
Separately, the Bay Area Dragons are believed to have signed Hongkongers Duncan Reid and Glen Yang to an extension, the team, who finished third in the “Champions Week” in its debut season earlier this year, is expected to meet the media in Hong Kong this month.
The local franchise are in Group B alongside Barangay Ginebra, Japanese side Ryukyu Golden Kings, and Seoul SK Knights from South Korea in the coming EASL season.
