SINGAPORE – The first ever South East Asian National Team Coaches Summit being held in Singapore is underway today. 34 coaches from the 10 basketball federations in the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) territory have assembled for a three-day coaching clinic conducted by the World Association of Basketball Coaches President Patrick Hunt.

Mr. Hunt presenting at the 2014 FIBA World Congress

Patrick Hunt served 36-years at the Australian Institute of Sport, including 9 years as Head Coach and most recently as a technical coaching consultant across other Olympic sports. Mr. Hunt has coached over 350 international games and has been recognised by USA National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) with a Lifetime Achievement Award along with induction into the Basketball Australia Hall of Fame.

Mr. Hunt has been observing international basketball for more than 30-years now.

“Asia has tremendous potential for basketball to be incredibly popular,” Mr. Hunt told FIBA.basketball. “One of the big drivers for people playing and enjoying sport is good coaching.”

“We are working with the national coaches to make sure they know the latest trends in coaching and playing styles from across the world. This will assist these coaches to continue to improve their team’s performances and grow the sports national interest in their respective countries.”

FIBA in Singapore Executive Director David Crocker further spoke to the knowledge and reputation of Mr. Hunt.

“FIBA has asked Coach Hunt to lead this summit as his knowledge of international basketball is world leading,” said Mr. Crocker. “As President of the World Association of Basketball Coaches, he is shaping the way the basketball is coached all around the world is a great resource for these coaches to learn from.”

Mr. Crocker expressed FIBA’s commitment to growing basketball throughout the ASEAN region.

“FIBA is investing further in South East Asia to accelerate the development of basketball across the ASEAN territory. Basketball is already number one in the Philippines and we know we can increase the sport’s popularity across all of this region. This Summit gives these leading Coaches a higher level of technical development than is generally available to them.”

National Coaches from Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam are attending the summit from 15-17 September.

This summit is made possible through a partnership between FIBA and Australian Aid under the Asian Sports Partnership Program.

FIBA