Asian University Challenge: facing regional foes often ‘key to raising basketball levels’
Hong Kong’s university champions are beaten 89-49 by Korean powerhouses Yonsei in a test event for a pan-regional collegiate league next year
The head coach of the Hong Kong universities’ basketball champions believes that allowing local players to face their regional universities regularly is one of the best ways to raise their standards in the long run.
City University of Hong Kong, winner of the 2023-24 intercollegiate tournament, is part of the six-team Asian University Basketball Challenge in Hong Kong this weekend, in a tournament that features some of the region’s top teams, including Tsinghua University and Peking University of China, as well as Korean powerhouse Yonsei University
Yonsei beat City University 89-49 in the opening match yesterday.
The four-day tournament at the Sun Yat Sen Memorial Park Sports Centre in Sai Ying Poon will serve as the test event for a pan-regional collegiate league sanctioned by Asian University Sports Federation and operated by Realeauge, who signed off on a 10-year deal on Friday.
The inaugural edition of the collegiate league is expected to start in the second half of next year, with at least one local university being part of the multi-team set-up.
Bear Liang Man-hung, who led City University to its title in March, said earlier exposure to international basketball was vital to developing the sport and basketball culture in the city.
