BEIRUT (Lebanon) - The FIBA Regional Office-Asia successfully conducted separate game officials workshop in two South East Asia basketball countries before and at the start of May.

Kuala Lumpur served as the first stop of the recent workshops from April 27-29 in an endeavor made possible in cooperation with the Malaysia Basketball Association (MABA).

A total of 26 male and female participants took part in the three-day referee instructor program, leaving MABA Secretary General, Mr. Tan Kee Hian, optimistic of their local referees' growth, hoping as well to see their homegrown game officials become part of bigger events globally.

“I believe that after this workshop, the level of MABA's domestic referees will improve," he said. "We are grateful for the support given to us by the FIBA Regional Office Asia and I hope that soon, our referees can partake in high-level FIBA competitions in the future."

MABA Asst.Technical Advisor, Mr. Sunny San Chyi Her, on the other hand, is looking forward to more similar workshops that could further improve the level of their game officials.

"I would like to thank the FIBA Regional Office-Asia for dedicating a workshop for our game officials. This is a great milestone for MABA, and we seek to organize more workshops to improve the professional capabilities of our technical team," he said.

FIBA referees workshops impart the latest updates on FIBA rules and interpretations, as well as game management and communication techniques. Video analysis and review of game situations are also given importance in the program, along with physical fitness.

The second referees workshop, meanwhile, was held in Hong Kong, China last May 3-5, in coordination with the Basketball Association of Hong Kong, China (BAHKC).

After seeing 28 attendees in the three-day camp, BAHKC Vice Present, Mr. Leung Kang Ying, assured that the National Federation will continue to help conducting such clinics to further aid in making their local referees competitive and at par to international standards.

"The BAHKC will continue to organize similar workshops in the future to help local referees synchronize to global standards and improve the level of basketball officiating," he said.

More referees workshops will be held in several countries in the next months as part of the FIBA Regional Office-Asia's commitment to further improve game officiating in the region.

FIBA