International Basketball League looks forward to fifth season

Published on December 15, 2008 under International Basketball League (IBL) News Release

Portland, OR-The International Basketball League is expecting 18 teams to play in the 2009 season. The '09 season, which starts on Saturday April 4th and runs through and including July 3rd (2009) is the league's fifth season. Two features have distinguished the IBL from other minor leagues.

-Feature #1: an entertaining fast paced game for fans

The original goal: IBL founder Mikal Duilio's venture into minor league basketball was born out of a passionate belief that basketball was meant to be athletic and fun for players and spectators alike. Duilio's vision is that every game, not just most games, is fun to watch; his ideal was the 1980's Lakers and in particular Magic Johnson. IBL Founder & Commissioner Mikal Duilio-"Basketball should be an athletic game that ebbs and flows rather than tiptoes along in unnatural stops and starts." Two rules were designed to force every IBL game to be athletic in nature and exciting to watch. The two rules were tested and approved-in eleven exhibition games between Seattle and Portland starting in November of 2003 and played into mid-year 2004. The two rules were and are the following: 1) the basketball being immediately inbounded and 2) teams only allowed one timeout per twelve-minute quarter...with these rules, every IBL game should be athletic, fun and done in 2-hours.

Result after 4 years: The inaugural IBL season tipped off on April 7, 2005; the result was that IBL teams averaged 127 points per game and the game occurred in just under two hours. The second season for the IBL was completed in July of 2006 and after 249 games, that season also had a scoring average of 127 points per game; every IBL game was fun, not just a few select games. The formula worked.

-Feature #2: extremely low travel costs for owners

The original goal: A basketball team has to make financial sense for an owner, so the IBL created the ‘one flight guarantee' to reduce costs. Extremely expensive travel costs drive other minor league teams out of business within a few years; however, an alternative- a local league with no travel would not be intriguing... so the question is-how do you have an intriguing national or international league without breaking the backs of the owners with too much travel? This question was answered with the IBL ‘one flight guarantee'. The IBL recruits teams in geographical clusters ; a ‘cluster' is defined as 2 to 3 teams within driving distance-with the result of these clusters being a schedule with tremendous variety-opponents from all over the nation (and world)-but with owners only having to fly one time per year. The IBL ‘one flight guarantee', more specifically-is a promise that IBL teams will have the away game expenses of (or equivalent to) a schedule with six drivable games and one flight (to play 4 games in 4 days); this type of schedule reduces travel to an affordable level for owners.

Result after 4 years: the IBL travel efficiencies have worked and in fact the one flight guarantee has been the defining feature of the IBL- an efficiency so strong that it has allowed teams to struggle with revenues but still make it year to year.

-Asian expansion

The International Basketball league began its campaign in 2007 to expand into several Asian markets including China, Japan, South Korea, and the Philippines. In the two years following, four IBL teams went to China and multiple Asian teams have played in America; one team (Shanxi Zhongyu) even played a regular season within the IBL 2008 season... and in 2009 a team from Japan (Nippon Tornadoes) will play an official IBL season as well. The IBL is uniquely able to accommodate a team from Asia-because the IBL has 10 teams all within a driving distance of Portland, Oregon; when an Asian team joins the IBL, they can play all of their games out of one location (an Oregon location- the United States Basketball Academy). IBL Commissioner Mikal Duilio-"having 10 teams in one region makes overseas teams playing in the IBL-viable".

-Player development

The IBL did not start out with a goal of player development-however, due to the fast paced play and how well that fast pace works to get players in shape, the IBL drew great players (to play in the IBL) and also, the IBL produced great players (who would then leave the IBL to go overseas after the season expired). IBL players are indeed-international in their destinations. After the 2007 IBL season, 102 IBL players went on to play overseas; this established the IBL as the league to play with-to get an overseas job, but it also established the IBL as the place to play to get sharp/stay in shape to maintain an overseas job.

-Other highlights from the IBL

To date-ten Asian teams have exchanged games with the International Basketball League, ten former NBA players have played in the IBL including All Stars Tim Hardaway and Dennis Rodman and one former NBA player coached in the IBL (also an NBA All Star Terry Mills). An impressive attendance was garnered at an IBL game played in 2006 in Portland Oregon (at the Rose Garden) where 4,400 fans watched the Portland Chinooks beat the Vancouver Volcanoes (video on IBL web site); that attendance record was eclipsed one year later when 6,000 fans saw the Elkhart (Indiana) Express beat the Grand Rapids (Michigan) Flight (video also found on IBL web site). Photo left: Kevin Bloodsaw of the Vancouver Volcanoes in the 2006 game played at the Rose Garden.

For more information, photos & videos about IBL teams and/or the IBL, visit www.iblhoopsonline.com

International Basketball League Stories from December 15, 2008

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• International Basketball League looks forward to fifth season - IBL

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