ASEAN Basketball League Co-Founder Erick Thohir received an honor yesterday during a ceremony commemorating National Sports Day 2012 from the Indonesian Minister of Youth and Sports for his work in the sports industry.

“I would like to thank the Minister and the government,” Erick said upon receiving the award. “This award makes me even more excited to continue my efforts to develop sports in Indonesia and South East Asia.”

In addition to being a key figure in the formation of the ABL, the region’s first professional basketball league, Erick also holds the distinction of becoming the first Indonesian and the youngest person to hold the position of President for the South East Asian Basketball Association (SEABA) when he was first elected in 2006 for a four-year term and is currently expected to continue leading SEABA until at least 2014.

“This award is not the result of just my work alone, it is the result of the support and dedication from many different parties,” said Erick of his achievement. “I would like to take this opportunity to thank all my fellow stakeholders from Indonesia and around Southeast Asia, in particular Tony Fernandes, Group CEO of AirAsia and my co-founder for the ABL as well as Dato’ Yeoh Choo Hock, Secretary General of FIBA Asia, as this achievement would have not been possible without them.”