Some men define greatness! Dato Yeoh was one of them!

KUALA LUMPUR (Mageshwaran’s AsiaScope)  – Some men are born great. Some men have greatness thrust upon them. And some men are the very definition of greatness. Dato Yeoh Choo Hock belonged to this rare third group of men.

This weekend, Kuala Lumpur will witness the entire FIBA family gather to stand in adulation and adoration, salute and felicitate this soft-spoken but hard-driven doyen of basketball who today stands as tall as all the tallest men who have acted as catalysts for basketball development in the world.

Quite frankly, this piece is bound to personal and emotional.

For, these were exactly the two traits that Dato Yeoh taught me when putting me through the grinds of international sport management – to give a personal touch even to the most professionally demanding task so that it doesn’t look as demanding and adds a bit of emotion to the most objective exercise so that the whole exercise looks less monotonous.

Little did I realise then that these were exactly the traits Dato Yeoh himself practiced in life, and practiced successfully.

For him, basketball was a religion – his only religion, something he often would proudly proclaim.

“I am what I am because of basketball. Basketball is my religion. Basketball is my God. I need nothing else in my life,” he would say in every conversation that we’ve had.

Frankly, again, if I had not seen Dato Yeoh in person I just wouldn’t have believed such a thing – to believe and practice basketball as a religion – would have even been possible.

There are many achievements that can be attributed to Dato Yeoh.

The biggest achievement, to which I – like many others – today are beneficiaries, is that he gave an identity to basketball in Asia. Of this there can be no two opinions.

There have been men before Dato Yeoh who poured their heart and soul into working for basketball in Asia and there will be many more doing similarly in the time to come. But his position as the man who gave FIBA Asia and basketball a credibility, dignity as well as a special and deserving place among the sporting fraternity and fans of Asia will always remain special.

Dato Yeoh never believed in using the stick as a method to get work done. Nor did he ever dangle any carrot. Instead Dato Yeoh’s method always was full of compassion.

For Dato Yeoh, the glass was never half empty. It was always half full.

“Give people time. Give them time to learn what you are saying. They’ll come around and follow what you are saying,” would be Dato Yeoh’s advice to many of us always.

“It is not only important to dream big. It is also important to make the people around you realise that what you are dreaming is realisable. If you can’t convince the people around you, you can’t convince the rest of the world about your dream. And the final result would be that your dream would remain just a dream,” were his oft-repeated pearls of wisdom.

“Therefore give people a chance to learn. And they will surely learn,” were always his words of guidance.

It was for this very reason that Dato Yeoh was not only respected and admired throughout the basketball world, but also loved and adored.

For many of us, he was simply the father to run to when in trouble; the philosopher to run to when we needed guidance; and the friend to run to when we needed a joke. To sum up in one word, he was simply Dato.

Today, Dato Yeoh is no longer FIBA Asia's Secretary General. He has become FIBA Asia's Secretary General Emeritus. That only means he’ll have more time for us, when we go to him for help and advice.

We will continue to pick your brains Dato, for there is a lot we have to still learn from you.

You were a gem Dato Yeoh! And will always remain so!

So long…

S Mageshwaran

FIBA Asia

FIBA’s columnists write on a wide range of topics relating to basketball that are of interest to them. The opinions they express are their own and in no way reflect those of FIBA.

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