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)