| The Hoching Basketball Association was founded in December 2000. The idea was formulated by Peter Kang during study hall while he was still a senior in high school at John P. Stevens in Edison, NJ. After the last season of his varsity football career concluded on Thanksgiving, Kang looked to fill his now-vacant Saturdays with an activity that would include his school friends. The Hoching Basketball Association was a hope that enough of his friends would be interested and enthusiastic in the idea of a real three-on-three basketball league that had set teams and kept a continuous record.
The Beginning On December 9th, 2000, the first HBA game was played at Hidden Park as the Blue team defeated the Gray team 11-9. The league was comprised of three teams: Blue, Red, and Gray. The original members of the league included Peter Kang, Warren Chia, Andy Ni, Welton Chang, Reggie Soang, Yi Fu Wu, Andy Chou, Ken Chen, and Eugene Chang. Word about the HBA spread among other classmates at school and by February 2001, the league had five teams: Blue, Red, Gray, White, and Orange. Peter Kang became the commissioner of the league and Welton Chang worked as the director of operations. Amid snow, ice, and rain in the cold months of February and March, the league flourished as players dedicated four hours every Saturday to the HBA. By May 2001, the league had grown to six teams with the addition of expansion Green team. Featuring over thirty players, the league also found support from Marguerite Balasta and Hannah Ludwin, two dedicated statisticians who helped the league. With high school graduation nearing in late spring, the HBA league ended on June 13th, 2001. Over 124 games were played during the period that began on February 16th. A music video featuring clips from the February-May period can be viewed online. The Reunion Towards the end of their first year in college, Peter Kang and Welton Chang drew plans for a two-day event that would allow former HBA players to reunite and take part in a tournament. The HBA Reunion 2002 kicked off with a barbeque at Chang's house on June 7th followed by a round robin, single-elimination tournament on June 8th at Hidden Park. Twenty-four players on seven different teams (Blue, Red, Gray, Green, White, Black, Orange) competed against each other. The final game featured a memorable Blue vs. Green in which Blue won 17-15 in overtime. Although the only HBA event of 2002, the Reunion was a reminder that HBA was not quite ready to disappear. The Summer League In May 2003, Andy Chou contacted Peter Kang and put forth the idea of having a summer-long HBA session. Kang then compiled a list of all available players who would be in the Edison, NJ area over the summer and would be able to attend the games on weekends. Sundays were chosen for summer league play and four teams - Blue, Red, Gray, and White - were initially assembled with Orange team being added on after the second week of play. Each team was given up to five players to help make up for anticipated absences during the course of the season. Beginning on June 1st, 2003 and concluding with two weeks of playoffs on August 3rd and August 10th, the HBA Summer League was run by a tightly knit staff with established responsibilities for each member. Peter Kang continued his role as commissioner, overseeing the entire league operations and shaping the overall image of the league. Ken Chen, replacing Welton Chang as the director of operations, oversaw the record-keeping process and league press releases. Andy Ni, as director of internal affairs, was in charge of preparing the HBA facilities and providing refreshments for all the players. The HBA Summer League witnessed 128 games in ten weeks and featured over thirty players. On August 10th, 2003, the Gray team played the White team for the 2003 HBA championship title amid thunderstorms at Hidden Park. The White team won the series 4-1 and Neeraj Patel was named league MVP. A barbeque and a video presentation at Andy Ni's house capped off a successful summer of HBA.
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