Baseball, softball going for Aussie training before SEAG
Musthofid The Jakarta Post/Jakarta
National baseball and softball squads, currently preparing for November's 23rd Southeast Asian Games (SEAG) in Manila, are headed to Australia for the demands of playing arch-rival the Philippines.
The 19-strong baseball team is scheduled for weeklong training in Brisbane beginning on Sept. 20, playing against teams from local clubs as well Australia's under 17 and 21 teams. The team will embark on another outing to Taiwan in mid October before the SEAG, where baseball will make its debut.
The men's and women's softball teams, each comprising 18 players, leave for Perth on Sept. 16 for 10 days.
"The Philippines is far similar to Australia in terms of the way they play baseball. They (Australians) play with speed, as do the Philippines," assistant coach Endang Isnandar told The Jakarta Post here last week.
Softball coaches Iwan Pujiharto and Yuliastono said the Australia outing was expected to give the players the knowledge needed to face the hard-batting Philippines.
The host team, set to benefit from home crowd support, is a stronghold for baseball and softball. It is the only Southeast Asian nation in the first division of Asian baseball along with Japan, Chinese Taipei, South Korea and China.
After teetering between the first and second division, Indonesia was relegated to the second division in last year's Asian championship.
However, it can take inspiration from 2003, when it blanked the Philippines 7-0 to enter the first division.
"We will push our way into the semifinals. And I think the chance will be 50-50 if we meet the Philippines in the finals," said Gugun Yudinar, the executive chairman of the Indonesian Amateur Baseball and Softball Federation (Perbasasi).
"We hope that the Chinese Taipei team can give us input about the Philippines game. Teams from both countries meet quite often."
Perbasasi also organized a two-month pitching course with Chong Kyum-yoo from South Korea.
"Pitching has been our problem. With Yoo working us for two months, our pitchers have shown good progress. They have more power and speed," Gugun said.
First base player Adi Susanto said he and his teammates would have more confidence thanks to their better pitching.
"That will leave us with a more focused job of batting," said the 25-year-old infielder.
"Philippine strength is found in its powerful pitchers. Their pitching power nears that of the MLB (Major League Baseball)."
Adi said he was impatient to embark on their overseas outing to alleviate the monotony of training sessions at home, which began in April in Senayan, Central Jakarta.
"The condition is beginning to get boring because we do the same thing every day. We need a new atmosphere for games," said Adi, who also picked Thailand as another potential threat.
Baseball team: Cindy Patria, Lukman Kurnia, Syaiful Noer, Vicky Viksana, Kurnia, Anhar Rahman, Moh. Akbar, Ahmad Efendi, Rizky P. Nasution, Eru G. Mahmud, Adi Susanto, Ruli Parnanto, Jesse Parengkuan, Angga Prananda, Bambang Dwitama, M. Rizky Megawanto, Andospa Aldo, Elia M. Sihombing and Purbo Wicaksono.