IBL announces its 2003 debut
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The Indonesian Basketball League (IBL) was promoted on Wednesday with the organizers expecting a hard time to try to build an image for the competition.
IBL is the new name for the national basketball competition, formerly called Kobatama since its inception in 1982.
The IBL is independent of the Basketball Association of Indonesia (Perbasi). Perbasi is left with a supervising role.
The league will feature 10 teams, divided into Red Division and White Division.
Red Division groups Aspac Texmaco Jakarta, Bhinneka Sritex Solo, Kalila Jakarta, IM Star Jakarta and Bima Sakti Nikko Steel Malang.
The White Division includes Angsapura Sania Medan, Citra Satria Jakarta, Panasia Indosyntec Bandung, Satria Muda Britama Jakarta and Wismilak CLS Surabaya.
IBL director Ary Sudarsono said the League had been arranged to lift the national basketball performance with the final goal that basketball should be the nation's pride.
"We are moving towards a basketball-crazed community but not in the immediate future. We are in for hard times for the first two years to build an image," Ary, also a TV presenter, said during his presentation here on Wednesday.
"The IBL image must pervade through all parts of Indonesia. The participating teams and our partners should refrain from expecting too much from us. We are just starting.
"And in the following two years, 2005 and 2006, we can hope that basketball is a product that we can sell and yield profit. Then we can expect it as a way of life. Everyone loves basketball with its IBL," Ary claimed.
With the official launch planned on April 30, IBL will begin competition on May 23, when the first round of the regular matches kick off in Bandung, West Java for one week.
The second series is in Solo, Central Java, in June, followed by the third series in Malang, East Java, in July and the fourth series in Medan, North Sumatra, in August.
Play-offs and championship games will be held in Jakarta between late August and early September.