BAS Board members meet up with contingent from FIBA Asia Board visiting Singapore to attend fifth board meeting for the 2023-27 cycle.
BAS Board members meet up with contingent from FIBA Asia Board visiting Singapore to attend fifth board meeting for the 2023-27 cycle.
9th Feb, 2026
Just days after the appointment of a new president and other key appointment holders following elections held in mid-January, the rejuvenated board jumped quickly into action, catalysed by the serendipitous convening of FIBA Asia fifth board meeting for its current cycle in in Singapore. While Singapore does not have representation on the FIBA Asia Board, this was nonetheless a great opportunity for members of the BAS board and secretariat team to have face-to-face discussions with key figures in FIBA Asia, who took time outside of their hectic meeting schedules to share upcoming focus areas and provide guidance for the BAS team.
For BAS President Mr Seah Liang Bing, it was an opportunity to catch up with several old friends and play host to them during their stay here. Mr Seah introduced his team to FIBA Executive Director of Asia, Mr Hagop Khajirian, over morning coffee at the Amara Hotel, where the board meeting was to be held the following day. (see photos below) After briefly reminiscing about past visits to Singapore, Mr Khajirian discussed recent FIBA initiatives and shared his vision on how BAS could play an active role and increase Singapore’s profile in the world of international basketball. He encouraged the BAS team to look into improving the quality of tournaments organized here and expanding the local leagues. He also stressed the importance of ensuring that ample opportunities for women to participate and be part of the wider sports ecosystem, a principle which FIBA abides by.
While Mr Khajirian acknowledged the recent advances Singapore made in expanding technical capabilities through a growing pool of qualified game officials (referees, statisticians) licensed for international competitions, he emphasized that more needed to be done to develop and enable players to reach greater heights and to compete at an international level. He shared insights on structural programmes and resources within FIBA that national federations can tap on. Through this session, further informal meetings were then facilitated to kickstart conversations between the BAS team and the relevant subject matter experts in FIBA on specific topics such as coaching and youth development.
By the evening of the 9th of February, more delegates had arrived in Singapore ready for the board meeting to be held on the 10th, including current FIBA President, Sheikh Saud Ali Al Thani, and FIBA Asia President, Dr Kempareddy Govindaraj, who graced the BAS team with their presence at a dinner hosted by BAS President Mr Seah.
The informal dinner setting enabled the conversation to flow freely between FIBA Board members and the BAS board and subcommittee members in attendance, who benefited from the generous sharing on the experience of the different national federations. Also present was, Zoran Radovic, current Senior Director of the FIBA Management team, who is no stranger to Singapore basketball. Having visited visited Singapore in 2004 and in 2014 to observe the local basketball scene then, Mr Radovic urged newly-appointed head of the Selection and development sub-committee, Mr Muzaffar Shaikh, to better leverage existing resources within Singapore even before looking outwards. Mr Radovic pointed out the notable advances made then and attributed it to greater integration with the international community then. He postulated that due to the globalised nature of our economy, Singapore would inherently have a diverse talent pool that could be tapped into to help bring fresh energy to the local sports ecosystem.
Through further discussion, Mr Radovic also corroborated the importance of ideas that had already been brought up for discussion during the first meeting of the new BAS Board. These ideas include taking steps towards developing a systematic player registration process for the purposes of talent identification and development, as well as initiatives and guidelines for clubs and academies to ensure that these organizations are actively striving to provide an environment within which players can thrive and reach their potential. These foundational activities will then enable Singapore better make use of FIBA’s Management & Administration Platform (FIBA MAP) and become better connected with basketball activities at a global level on different fronts.
This well-timed visit from leaders and representatives of FIBA Asia has turned out to be highly productive for the new Board, who are now imbibed with new knowledge and inspiration, as they set out to take on the challenges facing local basketball.
