One of the best overseas basketball players to compete in Hong Kong believes imminent change is needed if the sport is to survive in the city.
Former Canadian international Tyler Kepkay, considered by many to be the best import of the past 30 years, said a “collective effort” was required after decades of neglect.
But the newly retired 38-year-old also believed there was reason to be optimistic, pointing to the passion for the game at the grass roots level and the opportunities that exist just across the border.
“From the government to the people in charge of the basketball association, to all the teams, to the grass roots levels,” he said. “It will be a collective effort if it wants to be saved, and turns into what it should be.”
Kepkay, who joined A1 Division team Winling in March 2014, said any change had to happen soon, otherwise Hong Kong might “get stuck in the cycle that it’s been in for the last little while”.
The city’s men have slipped to 26th in the regional rankings and will not be part of this year’s Asian Games, while officials at the Basketball Association of Hong Kong, China, have long been accused of neglecting the development of the sport locally.