2002 Megawati Cup to break new ground

2002 Megawati Cup to break new ground

Musthofid
The Jakarta Post
Jakarta

The use of President Megawati's for a women's basketball
tournament does not appear to guarantee immediate success,
according to an official of the Indonesian Basketball Association
(Perbasi).

Setya Darma Majid, who is in charge of tournament
organization, said that the Megawati Soekarnoputri Cup had failed
to attract sponsors during the first two editions of the annual
tournament.

"It is not an easy task to get them. The times have changed.
Companies do not seem to automatically accede to offers for
sponsorship just because the tournament uses the name 'Megawati'.

"We should not have taken it for granted that the name would
guarantee success," Setya told a press conference during the
announcement of the third Megawati Cup.

The six-day competition will start on Thursday and feature
eight teams divided into two pools.

Unlike the previous years in which Perbasi had to organize it
itself, this year's tournament will involve cooperation between
the basketball association and sports event organizer SE Concept.

Hassani Abdulgani, from SE, said the organizer had arranged a
sports tournament combined with entertainment show in an attempt
to lure as many spectators as possible.

"We will present the spectators with Slank during the
semifinal matches," he said referring to a popular local rock
group.

An exhibition game between TV soap opera, locally known as
sinetron, stars, entertainers and TV presenters was also planned,
said Hassani, an American-based basketball commentator, who also
mentioned a lineup of sponsors for the tournament.

Speaking further about basketball development, Hassani pointed
to the importance of high frequency tournaments to ensure that
women's basketball players in the country were well-tested and
well-prepared for international events.

The Megawati Cup will be staged at the Kuningan Basketball
Hall with a total of Rp 22.5 million (US$2,400) in cash prizes up
for grabs.

Defending champion Mahaputri Hanamasa Jakarta leads Pool A,
which also includes Bhinneka Solo, Samudra Yogyakarta and Sahabat
Surabaya.

Wismilak CLS Surabaya, last year's runner-up, is grouped in
Pool B with Rajawali Bandung, Merah Putih Bank Mandiri and
Jayabaya Kediri.