Cheetahs retain Cup with win over Prambors

Cheetahs retain Cup with win over Prambors

JAKARTA (JP): The Cheetahs retained the club's baseball
tournament trophy for the third consecutive time, outslugging the
Prambors 19-9 in the final of the 3rd Cheetahs Baseball &
Softball Cup here on Saturday.

Played at the Senayan baseball field, the match, a repeat of
last year's final encounter between the two clubs, saw the
Cheetahs take the lead early with Gilberto Sayogo making a grand
slam for a 5-0 score in the first inning.

Although the Prambors outran the Cheetahs in the second and
fourth innings, the former had been trailing throughout.

The Cheetahs were leading 15-6 up until the game entered its
sixth inning when a minor incident took place, which prompted the
game to come to a grinding halt for almost half an hour.

The incident flared up when the referee called one of the
Prambors' players out instead of safe. After an exchange of words
between officials of the two camps, playing resumed. In the
remaining three innings, the teams took one each with the last
ending in a draw.

Earlier, Pejabat secured third place with a 15-11 victory over
Teladan.

In the women's softball competition, Bandung-based Gorgeous
overcame an early fright which saw it trail 2-4 in the first
inning to scrape through a defeat over city rival Doberman, 7-5.

Dethroned champions Prambors took consolation by trashing
SMANDA 13-1 for the third position.

On the sidelines of the event, the vice president of the
Indonesian Baseball & Softball Association (Perbasasi), Harry A.
Trisnadi, said the organization would pursue an attempt for its
provincial branches to revive competition.

He said the measure would enable a tight selection process
when it comes to forming a national team.

Jakarta has traditionally formed the backbone of the national
team. "With other provinces given an opportunity to develop we
will have greater options in selecting players," he said.

The policy will first take effect in certain provinces dubbed
home to baseball talent, including West Java, East Java, Central
Kalimantan, East Kalimantan and Lampung.

Lampung will be the venue of the National Baseball
Championship, which will run from Oct. 1 to Oct. 7.

Indonesia will also take part in the Asian Junior
Championships in Taipei, starting Aug. 28.

The senior team has over one year to measure its skills in the
Asian level competition when it enters the 2002 Asian Games in
Pusan, where baseball will make its debut as a medal event. (01)