SINGAPORE — Local basketball fans will be in for a treat at this year’s Merlion Cup as several former and current National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and NBA players will be in action at the OCBC Arena.

Stars who are likely to play at the Sept 21-25 tournament, which is making its return after a 20-year absence, include Alford Thornton of Filipino outfit Mighty Sports — who played for the Los Angeles Clippers and the Golden State Warriors from 2007 to 2011 — and 2016 NBA drafter Guerschon Yabusele of the Shanghai Sharks.

The other teams in the six-team competition are Taiwan’s Kinmen Kaoliang Liquor, Seoul Samsung Thunders from South Korea, the Westports Malaysia Dragons and the Singapore Slingers.

And according to the Basketball Association of Singapore (BAS), fans will get to see more of such players in future as it seeks to turn the Merlion Cup into a marquee international club competition.

BAS president David Ong in a media conference yesterday said: “There are some regional and local competitions, but not quite like an international one done here. Sport Singapore and the BAS want to make this a self-sustaining, ongoing annual event and make sure it gets bigger and better in the coming years.”

The plan, he said, is to expand the Merlion Cup into an eight or 10-team tournament featuring clubs from Europe, the US and Australia.

“We are just at the infant stage. We have very good teams (this year), but there are more teams out there,” he said. “The European League is huge, and, of course we have to look at the NBA and the Americans. The Australians and New Zealanders are also good players. These are the areas we can look to grow the Merlion Cup.”

As such, it is important to ensure that this year’s tournament is a success, said Ong. “The first year is important. If we do it right, ensure it is credible, well-managed, and successful, it will attract bigger teams,” he explained. “A high-quality tournament will really help our national players, most of whom are in the Singapore Slingers, in terms of learning from the best.”

Ong also noted that ticket sales for the event have been encouraging and he attributed this to the growing popularity of the sport following the success of the national team at last year’s South-east Asian Games, and the Slingers in this year’s Asean Basketball League, as well as moves by Sport SG to get more kids playing basketball.

The men’s national team won a second straight bronze medal at the SEA Games while the Slingers lost to the Dragons in a thrilling five-match ABL finals series in March.

Meanwhile, the ActiveSG Basketball Academy for kids was launched this year, while this weekend’s inaugural Junior NBA Singapore 2016 programme will see 15 young players selected for an overseas NBA camp.

“The interest and passion for basketball has grown,” said Ong. “We have a lot of basketball courts in Singapore, even more than football fields, and basketball is now the second most popular sport here. I think we should leverage on all this.” ADELENE WONG

MERLION CUP FIXTURES

Sept 21: Kinmen Kaoliang Liquor v Singapore Slingers (6.30pm), Seoul Samsung Thunders v Mighty Sports (8.30pm)

Sept 22: Seoul Samsung Thunders v Westsports Malaysia Dragons (6.30pm), Shanghai Sharks v Kinmen Kaoliang Liquor (8.30pm)

Sept 23: Mighty Sports v Westsports Malaysia Dragons (6.30pm), Singapore Slingers v Shanghai Sharks (8.30pm)

Sept 24: Semi-finals (6.30pm and 8.30pm)

Sept 25: Fifth-sixth play-offs (1pm), third-fourth playoffs (3.30pm), final (6pm)

Tickets available at sportshub.com.sg/sportshubtix