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Cambodian - Men Basketball
Cambodia - still searching for international competitions to participate - Oct 27, 2009 (by Hector Santos)
With a fresh input of funds and resources, Cambodias national basketball team still search for international competitions to see how they stand in the region
For the first time in years, the Cambodian Basketball Federation (CBF) is making a concerted push for the mens national basketball team to be competitive. Now they just need to find a competition to play in.
In the past year, the federation has scoured Cambodia for young talent and funded a recruiting trip across the world to the US
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With a fresh input of funds and resources, Cambodias national basketball team still search for international competitions to see how they stand in the region
For the first time in years, the Cambodian Basketball Federation (CBF) is making a concerted push for the mens national basketball team to be competitive. Now they just need to find a competition to play in.
In the past year, the federation has scoured Cambodia for young talent and funded a recruiting trip across the world to the US. However, with the cancellation of the basketball tournament in Decembers SEA Games in Laos, future international matches have yet to be arranged.
When Laos was named the host nation for the 2009 SEA Games last year, organisers quickly noted the lack of gymnasiums capable of hosting an international basketball tournament. Participating countries, along with sponsor country China, were unable to find a way to make the tournament happen.
At our second council meeting, we decided that we couldnt have basketball. We dont have the facilities, said Somphou Phongsa, the head of the administration and service committee for the SEA Games in Laos.
Austin Koledoye, head coach of the Cambodian national team for over two years, expressed his frustration over the situation. We dont have the money to travel to other countries, and we dont really have the facilities to host the wealthier countries, he said. What are we supposed to do?
In December 2008, Mak Chanphirun, captain of the 1998 Sisowath High School basketball squad and a current staff member at the National Assembly, was named the new secretary general of the CBF. Since then, the funding and resources that Koledoye has been longing for in his last four years as coach are finally beginning to emerge.
In February, the government paid for Koledoyes trip to the US, where he met with a dozen Cambodian-Americans, some playing at Division II universities. I was looking for players with height, he stated. We needed an enforcer, someone to go against teams like the Philippines.
National basketball coach Austin Koledoye is looking for international competitions.But all the coach found were guards, three of which tentatively agreed to make the monthlong excursion to Southeast Asia in order to train for and participate in the December SEA Games on the governments tab.
The CBA also searched for young talent at home, and found a 17-year-old wide-shouldered Khmer teenager from Prey Veng named Phal Sophors, who moved to Phnom Penh to train in May.
It wasnt his basketball skills that drew the attention of Mak Chanphirun and Koledoye, who spotted him playing at the annual National High School Basketball tournament in Battambang. It was his 1.9-metre stature.
He could hardly dribble on the first day, but hes getting a lot better. Playing basketball is the only thing he is here for, said Koledoye.
A year ago, Phal Sophors was living with his parents and eight siblings, spending his days studying and working in his familys rice fields. I played basketball at school and with my friends, but not every day, he admitted. Now, only two years after first picking up a basketball, he is living in Cambodias most populous city, sleeping in a small room in Olympic Stadium and practising for three hours a day with the countrys best ballers.
Still a teenager, Phal Sophors physical supremacy is obvious as soon as practice begins. No one on the team steps in front of his moves to the basket, and if they did, its unlikely that they would stop him from getting there.
His skills are underdeveloped compared with most of the players on the team, some of whom have been playing for 10 years, but he is the tallest player on the team with centimeters to spare and his aggression and hustle are relentless.
Like other athletes on Cambodias national sports teams, Phal Sophors receives a monthly salary of 250,000 riels (US$60) from the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport, of which he sends half home to his parents. The ministry also provides athletes with three meals a day at the Borei Khmer Hotel. A larger monthly stipend was previously disbursed, but athletes were complaining of a lack of energy, so the officials decided to cut down on cash and guarantee a hearty diet of meat, rice and soup.
Despite improved resources and future promise, the national basketball team, made up mostly of university students, still has a way to go towards being a legitimate international competitor. Koledoye admits that they are years, perhaps decades, away from competing with the Philippines, who are the dominant basketball team in the region. We have to start from the ground up, but on the ground there is nothing, the coach remarked. The players have no one to challenge them to get better.
To fill the void, some of the citys better players who have not made national team selection will come to Olympic Stadium to join the scrimmage during the second half of the daily 5:30pm-7:30pm practice.
The practice venue, which is made available at no cost by the ministry, is hardly ideal in itself. The chequered hardwood floor is falling apart; many of the wooden squares are rotting or filled in with cement. There are scores of lighting fixtures on the ceiling, but only a dozen are turned on for practice, casting a dim yellow light on the floor.
The team has permission to use the court anytime it is available, but being one of the few indoor sports venues in the city, it is often in use by volleyball leagues, the Futsal federation or martial arts tournaments, leaving the national team with nowhere to go. A recent practice was cancelled after thunderstorms caused half of the players, who mostly travel by motorbike, to miss the session.
The national coach admits that there is no shortage of obstacles, but he is thrilled with the governments recent interest in basketball and the effort of his players. These guys are busting their butts out there. They just need competition, he said.
With a series of coaching clinics this month, Koledoye and Mak Chanphirun hope to bring basketball fundamentals to Cambodias youth through knowledgeable coaches. We are trying to make a difference in basketball in Cambodia, asserted the CBA official. Perhaps by the next time they have a competitive game, all this hard work will pay off.
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Cambodia NT head coach recruits more US-Cambodian players - Aug 3, 2009 (by Hector Santos)
Cambodia national basketball team head coach Augustine Koledoye has returned from a month long visit to the US and Canada, where he was searching for Cambodian-born talent to draft into the national team ahead of a busy schedule of games coming up in the later part of the year.
Koledoye, who spearheaded the Cambodian National Team with a very respectable performance in the last Southeast Asian Games compared to prior editions of the games
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Cambodia national basketball team head coach Augustine Koledoye has returned from a month long visit to the US and Canada, where he was searching for Cambodian-born talent to draft into the national team ahead of a busy schedule of games coming up in the later part of the year.
Koledoye, who spearheaded the Cambodian National Team with a very respectable performance in the last Southeast Asian Games compared to prior editions of the games.
'I have been scouting around for Cambodian-American players, and I found three good players in LA,' said Koledoye, moments after he arrived in Phnom Penh airport. 'In fact there are many of them, but I only have hope on those three because the rest are just a bunch of street players.'
Many Cambodian players whose families were relocated to the US play for community-based teams in an Asian League. 'The players are quite good,' remarked Koledoye. 'But for their height, they would be able to find their way into the NBA.'
According to the Nigerian-born coach, the tallest he was able to find was only 6-foot-2 (1.88 metres), significantly under the NBA players' average height of 6 foot 7 inches, and dwarfed by the likes of China's 7-foot-6 superstar Yao Ming.
Koledoye declined to reveal the players' identities until further discussions with the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports, but remains confident that they will commit to coming to play for Cambodia in the future. The coach said he has already presented a plan of the team to the players and hopes they can honour a call up to the national team.
Cambodian national basketball team coach Augustine Koledoye.The coach also stated that basketball at the SEA Games in December is still in the balance, as the host country Laos has requested to write off the discipline due to lack of facilities. However, regional basketball superpowers Thailand, Malaysia and the Philippines are unhappy with Laos' decision and are seeking an alternative venue.
Koledoye, who doubles as sports director and after school coordinator at Northbridge International School, revealed that Thailand are prepared to host the event in a town close to Laos border, but has received no official verdict yet. 'The big basketball countries want to offer help ... but Laos is not budging,' hecomplained.
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Cambodia's 2009 National University Basketball Championships a success - Jul 21, 2009 (by Hector Santos)
Cambodia's 2009 National University Basketball Championships conclude last week with a well-attended volleyball final at Phnom Penh's Olympic Stadium.
The competition has a 10-year history, with both competitors and supporters eagerly anticipating the opportunity to compete against their peers.
This year, five institutions took part in the event: Build Bright University, Norton University, University of Technology, Human Resource University and Mekong University
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Cambodia's 2009 National University Basketball Championships conclude last week with a well-attended volleyball final at Phnom Penh's Olympic Stadium.
The competition has a 10-year history, with both competitors and supporters eagerly anticipating the opportunity to compete against their peers.
This year, five institutions took part in the event: Build Bright University, Norton University, University of Technology, Human Resource University and Mekong University. Despite the fact that there were 50 percent fewer teams competing than the previous year, the standard of play remained high.
With the court still looking dangerously wet just minutes before the final day of the basketball tournament, a number of cleaners tried their best to soak up puddles with the limited tools available.
Going into Wednesday's game, Human Resource University had already clinched the crown, meaning their game against Mekong University was academic.
The champions, playing in red jerseys, put on a basketballing master class against Mekong University and raced into a 34-22 lead by half-time. Their most effective work was done off the boards, with Touch Sothearith often gathering crucial rebounds and launching swift counterattacks that the Mekong defence was powerless to prevent.
There was a brief rally from Mekong after the interval, inspired by Phat Sarum, as they scored eight unanswered points to close the gap to just four. Their respite was short-lived, however, and despite barely budging from second gear, Human Resource soon regained their dominance and ran out a comfortable 15 points ahead, 56-41.
It was a hugely enjoyable occasion, with one of the most striking aspects being the exceptionally high level of sportsmanship on display. Players always helped one another up, apologised to one another after fouls and respected the referee's decisions.
Mak Chanphirun, General Secretary of the Cambodian Basketball Federation, was clearly delighted with the way the tournament had gone: 'Human Resource University certainly deserved their title, but this year was one of the most competitive we have had, with all the teams quite evenly matched,' he said. 'There were a lot of games decided by just two or three balls, which made it very exciting, and I think this is a good thing for the competitiveness of the championship and for the game as a spectacle.'
Cambodian Basketball Federation General Secretary Mak Chanphirun.However, despite paying huge testament to the players' efforts and to the friendly-yet-competitive nature of the event, Mak Chanphirun voiced concerns over Cambodia's ability to take the game to the next level.
'It is difficult for the players to improve because there aren't many tournaments, which means there isn't much opportunity for them to train,' he remarked. 'When the University Championship is coming, they will usually train for two or three months beforehand. If we had more competitions in Cambodia, the players would train more, and the standard would improve; that is where we would like to get to eventually.'
It was a sentiment echoed by Lor Syngharith, Assistant Coach of Cambodia's national team, who stated that basketball is still not popular in Cambodia compared to other sports. 'This is largely down to the fact that the equipment needed to play it is expensive,' he noted. 'Especially when compared to football or volleyball, and this makes it less accessible for the people. These other sports are already played everywhere and it is easier for the public to do so, so it will be difficult for basketball to catch up.'
There is a preoccupation here with how Cambodian sport measures up against that of other countries, a constant worry and dissatisfaction about the quality on display. At the moment though, most sports are in their infancy, and there is none of the pressure involved in most Western countries, where footballers are millionaires in their teens and entire futures can depend on how a basketball player performs in a single college game.
If there was an overriding emotion which prevailed at the University Championship, if one adjective could be used to describe it, it would be fun. And in the end, isn't that what sport is meant to be all about?
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