Dear fellow basketball lovers of the world in general, and FIBA Asia countries in particular,

We are here in Jinan for the 2nd FIBA Asia U16 Championship for Women at the end of FIBA Asia calendar of events for the year 2011 and it is with great satisfaction and eagerness that I write this message.

We have had four events so far – starting with the 22nd FIBA Asia Champions Cup in Manila in May 2011 through 24th FIBA Asia Championship for Women at Omura in August and 26th FIBA Asia Championship at Wuhan in September and most recently the 2nd FIBA Asia U16 Championship at Nha Trang City.

Each of the above events were a grand success showcasing the enormous basketball talent among FIBA Asia National Federations as much as FIBA Asia’s ability to organize and conduct the events with efficient professionalism.

I have no hesitation in expressing my confidence that Jinan 2011 too will join this list of successful events.

The talent we see here at the 2nd FIBA Asia U16 Championship for Women are the stars for the future. This is obvious.

The top two teams from Jinan will qualify to represent FIBA Asia in the 2012 FIBA U17 World Championship for Women to be played in the Netherlands. This will be looking at this Championship from a result perspective.

But I would welcome each of you to join me in watching all the players from all the teams in Jinan with keen interest in order to assess and assimilate the future stars of Asian women’s basketball.