Perbasi upbeat about women's basketball prospects<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The Indonesian basketball team is optimistic that its women's
\nsquad will be able to go one step better than their 2001
\nperformance when they take part in the upcoming Southeast Asian
\n(SEA) Games in Vietnam in December.<\/p>\n
The team finished in fourth place behind Thailand, Malaysia
\nand the Philippines at the 2001 SEA Games in Kuala Lumpur.<\/p>\n
\"The board of the Indonesian Basketball Association (Perbasi)
\nis determined that this team must take a medal, at least a
\nbronze. And I'm optimistic about the prospects given the current
\nlevel of preparations,\" team manager Noviantika Nasution said
\nhere on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
\"We started the training regime as early as in February, while
\nthe official starting date for training was May 1. Hopefully, the
\nearlier we start the better we'll get,\" she said.<\/p>\n
Under the coaching trio of Rastafari Horongbala, Amran,
\nHidayat Humaid, the team consists of 15 players, the majority of
\nwhom are newcomers.<\/p>\n
Two domestic tryouts against men's teams -- a college team and
\na junior team -- have been held, with another in Bandung to
\nfollow.<\/p>\n
Two overseas outings -- Singapore and Australia -- in
\nSeptember are planned by the team. In Singapore, the team will
\ntake part in an event participated in by other teams from the
\nSoutheast Asian region, while the Australian tour will focus on
\nfinding a sparring partner.<\/p>\n
\"As our plan to have an outing to China has fallen through due
\nto SARS, we are very keen to be able to go to these countries.
\nHopefully, SARS won't interfere with our plans,\" Noviantika said.<\/p>\n
The early start of training and the outings have made Perbasi
\nchairman Sutiyoso optimistic.<\/p>\n
\"After finishing in fourth place in Kuala Lumpur we deserve to
\ntake at least third place in Vietnam given our early preparations
\nand our planned trips,\" said Sutiyoso, who is also the governor
\nof Jakarta, while watching the team training at the basketball
\nhall in the Bung Karno sports complex.<\/p>\n
While the women are already busy with their SEA Games
\npreparations, the men's preparations will not commence until
\nafter the Indonesia Basketball League (IBL) completes its
\ninaugural season in August.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/perbasi-upbeat-about-womens-basketball-prospects-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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