FIBA Asia president Sheikh Saud Bin Ali Al-Thani has called upon his fraternity "to dedicate themselves in order to make basketball the No. 1 sport in Asia."

In an interview on the sidelines at the FIBA Asia Championship for Women, the genial president declared "if we persist what we are doing with a little more perseverance, the days are not far off when basketball will become the most popular sport in the continent at all levels."

"My dream is to see an Asian nation become the champion of the world among both men and women. And I'm sure we will work the hardest in turning that dream into a reality.

"In the next few months, we'll begin to organise seminars and clinics for our zonal secretaries. That will be the first step towards drawing a blueprint for our own development program.

"We will also provide support for any zones or national federations intending to conduct coaching workshops and clinics. We need to gradually usher in a global system for Asian coaches. Only then we can look at any significant improvements in our standards.

"Thirdly, these zonal seminars will also help us work out plans to improve the standards of our referees and umpires.

"Only if all these three facets of the sport (administration, players & coaches and the referees) combine well, we can take basketball to the next level in Asia.

"Like they say, basketball on the court is a team sport. So is its development."

On FIBA support:
"I must say it has been tremendous. FIBA in the recent times has made some very innovative moves to help the zones. Take the global marketing plan for instance. All the events in all the zones are packaged together and marketed. That makes the whole approach very comprehensive.

"From FIBA Asia's point of view, we can only appreciate FIBA's support."

On Asia's own Pro League:
"You see, we as a zone are pretty huge in terms of geographical distances. Travel across the zone takes a lot of time. Even for me to travel from Doha to Incheon took almost 11-12 hours. That kind of travel from one destination to another on a regular basis becomes unwieldy if you are planning a league. Hopefully, with the way things are developing in the world, travel within Asia will get faster.

"But we are not keeping quiet. We are encouraging each of our sub zones to have their own leagues. We will draw up a plan to integrate them into an Asian league. But we will have to give the sub-zones time for things to take shape. Some of the sub-zones are very active and the leagues are already big. In some others they are at a nascent stage.

"But then, things are not as easy in Asia as in other zones. So we will have to keep trying and give it time."

On the hindrances faced in Asia:
"War. This is an evil faced my all of mankind. We have so much trouble all the time in many places in Asia. But I'm confident better sense will prevail some time or the other and we can all live together in peace. But till then, it will be very difficult to optimize any development plan in Asia."

On peace and sport:
"That's a very good point you have raised. I know for a fact soldiers in the Army play basketball. So I sincerely hope my sport becomes a unifier of people than dividing them. People should play basketball in order to live in peace and not for war. And I'm sure even those who are fighting will soon realise this.

"Sport, I think, has the great power to bring together people cutting across all differences. There are many examples in history to prove this.

"My personal philosophy on sport has been "Competitive on the court, friendly off it." And this is what I hope from people in FIBA Asia in particular and Asia itself in general."

On KBA's centenary:
"I want to heartily congratulate Korean Basketball Association on its reaching 100 years. Korea has traditionally been an immense contributor to Asian basketball. Take this Championship itself for example. We have introduced so many new things at this Championship. It wouldn't have been possible without the support from KBA. So when they are celebrating something like a centenary, it automatically and obviously becomes our celebration too.

"Having said that, I must also mention the contribution each of our members have made and continue to make.

"We in FIBA Asia have always looked up to each other and stood by each other.

"Regardless of which country is celebrating what, I deem it as my own celebration. That's the way we have been living in FIBA Asia. We are culturally very diverse compared to any other region. Yet we work together without any problem. I think the variety is what makes us click together."

Article courtesy of www.fiba.com