Foreign players still a must for Kobatama<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Imported cagers remain the Indonesian Basketball
\nLeague (Kobatama)'s darlings as they did in the league's last two
\nseasons, says a club manager of the league.<\/p>\n
Toto Sudarsono, manager and coach of Pelita Jaya club, said on
\nSaturday that, for the time being at least, foreign players were
\nstill where the league's charm lies.<\/p>\n
\"Just look at the league's scores. Eighty percent are made by
\nforeign players,\" Toto told reporters after signing up a
\nsponsorship agreement between his club and sports drink Nagatan.<\/p>\n
\"I believe no sponsors would be interested in signing a
\ncontract with clubs not employing imported players,\" said Toto.<\/p>\n
He added that local players alone couldn't boost the quality
\nof play and the league's popularity. But quality is improving,
\nthanks to their foreign team-mates.<\/p>\n
Kobatama has run for two seasons with imported cagers. This
\nyear the league features 10 clubs, each with two import cagers.
\nThese ten clubs are: Aspac Jakarta, Bima Sakti Malang, CLS
\nSurabaya, Halim Kediri, Hadtex Bandung, Indonesia Muda Texmaco
\nJakarta, Pacific Surabaya, Pelita Jaya Nagatan, Satria Muda, and
\nSiliwangi Bandung.<\/p>\n
Toto said the foreign players in his club were Bobby Allen and
\nCharles Jones. Bobby, born in Toronto, was a player in Canada's
\nnational basketball league. He used to play in the Philippine's
\nbasketball league. Charles Jones is a U.S. player, who played for
\nSiliwangi last year.<\/p>\n
The league will run its first leg in Surabaya from Apr. 9 to
\nApr. 14. The second leg will be held in Semarang from May 7 to
\nMay 12, the third leg in Jakarta from June 4 to June 9 followed
\nby a show called \"stars war,\" between the league's top players on
\nJune 23 in Jakarta.<\/p>\n
The fourth leg will run in Bogor from July 9 to July 14 and
\nthe final one will be held in Jakarta from Aug. 7 to Aug. 10.
\n(arf)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/foreign-players-still-a-must-for-kobatama-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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