IBL announces its 2003 debut

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.