To many basketball fans in Taiwan, the William Jones Cup or the Basketball Association may be their sweetest memory. But if you ask them, "What's the hottest basketball event now?" There is the only answer: HBL, the High School Basketball League. Founded in 1988, the HBLwas at first just a high school basketball tournament. After the Taipei School Sport Federation took charge in 1996 and renamed it HBL, everything changed. The Federation decided to co-operated with Nike, the well-known sportswear manufacturer, and use its experience in marketing to promote the game. The HBL started with 129 teams; today there are more than 250. no longer just of interest to the players, it's now Taiwan's biggest basketball event. Fellow students, alumni (,), and sports fans all over Taiwan cheer for their favorite teams. At last year's finals, Taipei and Kaohsiung mayors came to cheer for their teams. The HBL starts in September with qualifying and preliminary(,) rounds and continues through April of the following year, when the finals are held. Broadcasting the games on television has helped make the HBL a wildly popular event. It's become the place to spot young basketball talent. Today's HBL players are tomorrow's professionals. Recent HBL tournaments have been very competitive, with no one school taking the advantage. This wide-open quality of the tournament makes it more exciting. Everyone wants to see how this year's games will come out. HBL fever just keeps getting hotter. Why does the writer say"Recent HBL tournaments have been very competitive"?
Because there isn't a school taking the advantage. Because HBL fever just keeps getting hotter. Because it's become the place to spot young basketball talent. Because the Taipei School Sport Federation took charge of it.