Indonesia's basketball team fulfills lowly target to win a bronze

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN (JP): Indonesia men's basketball team fulfilled its modest target of taking the bronze at the 20th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games, beating Malaysia 71-48 on Sunday.

The determined national team defied the pressure and outclassed Malaysia in almost all quarters with its better individual skills.

It was an improvement for Indonesia which finished fourth in the 1997 Games on home soil. Indonesia grabbed a medal, also bronze, in 1993.

In the final later in the day, the heavily favored Philippine team kept its supremacy in the region by beating Thailand 89-69 for the gold. The Philippine was undefeated in six preliminary games.

Indonesia put two losses to the Philippines and Thailand in the preliminary games behind it Sunday, playing with fire throughout the match.

"I kept relaxed as if there was nothing to lose," said forward Tri Adyatna Adi Loka.

It was the second medal for the Indonesian men's basketball team since 1993, equaling the feat of their women's compatriots who finished third in 1991 and 1997. Indonesia has never been absent from the SEA Games basketball competition.

Coach Tjetjep Firmansyah attributed the modest target to the limited period of preparation. Indonesia took part in the Southeast Asian Basketball Association (SEABA) competition, in which it finished third after the Philippines and Singapore, prior to the SEA Games.

Tjetjep, who appeared pleased with Saturday's result, warned that Indonesia should strengthen its center section if it aimed at winning the silver in the next Games.

"Our center players should be strong enough and have good individual skills. We already have good shooters."

Tjetjep admitted that Indonesia was unlikely to be able to match Philippines anytime soon because "their skills are far above us".

He said Indonesia could beat Thailand in the 2001 Games as long as it improved individual skills and played as many tournaments as possible.

"In Indonesia, competition does not go along very well. We only had three months for the basketball league in a year," he said.

Tjetjep also said players should be groomed by their clubs before they join the national training center.

"If competition rolls on every year, each club will prepare its players very well and they will just maintain their physical fitness when they join the national training camp," he said. (ivy)