Besides turning pro in Hong Kong, the 18-year-old hopes to be one of the few local players to ever make it into the Chinese Basketball Association
Marco Leung is tall for a shooting guard at 1.9 metres but it doesn't affect his 3-point range.Marco Leung, one of Hong Kong’s best young basketball players, wants to bring back the golden days.
“I think Hong Kong basketball has been getting worse for the past few years; the young players aren’t training hard enough,” said the 18-year-old. “When my coach played professionally a few years ago, that’s when it was at its best, but I’m going to do my best to help Hong Kong reach its old standards.”
If anyone can do it, it’s Marco, the captain of the Diocesan Boys’ School (DBS) A-grade basketball team. DBS won their fifth straight Hong Kong Schools Sports Federation inter-school championship last month with a dominant 62-36 victory over Po Kok Secondary School. In other words, he’s the leader of what is by far the best basketball school in Hong Kong.
“I was really happy when I was named captain, because our team has so many good players,” explained Marco. “As one of the few Form Six guys [in the team], I try to be a good leader for everyone else.”
Leading DBS to such a commanding victory was the best moment of his career so far, he recalled.
“This year we trained really hard and we really won as a team,” said Marco. “It was definitely my best moment so far.”
But he has basketball ambitions that go far beyond secondary school. Already a member of the Wong Tai Sin District Recreation & Sports Council club team, he plans to play for his university team as well as professionally for Hong Kong Division A1 team Fukien next year.
“It’s a little too easy playing for DBS, because our team is just too good, that we win by so much,” laughed Marco, who plans to study liberal studies at Chinese University next year.
Long term, he is thinking even bigger, as he wants to become one of the few Hongkongers to ever make it into the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA).
“My plan is to play professionally in Hong Kong, keep improving, and make a name for myself, and make it into the CBA within 10 years,” Marco said.
But he knows it won’t be easy – in fact, it’s Marco’s incredible work ethic that has allowed him to get to where he is today.
“I train every single day, seven days a week,” he said. “Even though I am training slightly less at the moment because I’m studying for the DSE, I make sure that I find some time to train and practise my skills.”
It helps that at 1.9 metres, Marco is very tall for his position, that of shooting guard. His natural talent and hard work have turned him into one of the best three-point shooters in
Hong Kong.
“Whenever I train, I make sure I practise my three-point shooting; I just shoot, shoot, shoot,” said Marco, whose favourite NBA player is the Golden State Warriors’ sharpshooter Klay Thompson. “It’s fun, and it helps me become a better player.”
Marco fell in love with the game when he started playing it seriously as a Form One student.
“I love basketball because I can score a lot of points,” he joked. “No, my favourite part
of basketball is the team aspect. I love playing with my teammates, who I consider my best friends.”
His advice to young players is to work hard, and be confident, saying these two are connected.
“The harder you work, the more confident you will be,” Marco said.