Jordan or Stackhouse due here
Jordan or Stackhouse due here
JAKARTA (JP): Either National Basketball Association great
Michael Jordan or NBA rookie of the year Jerry Stackhouse will
visit Indonesia for a week in August -- if an agreement on the
appearance fee is secured.
Indonesian Basketball League secretary Ade Bela told The
Jakarta Post that negotiations are now under way to get Jordan to
entertain Indonesian basketball fans.
"Jordan will hand over the league's trophy to the league's
winner (in the Aug. 10 final) and tour seven cities to give
coaching clinics," Bela said on Tuesday. The Indonesian
Basketball League finals will be held at Istora Senayan Jakarta
between Aug. 7 and Aug. 10.
"Jordan has shown interest to come here. He said he wanted to
learn about the development of basketball in Indonesia," Bela
quoted promoter Ary Sudarsono as saying. Ary was not available
for comment yesterday.
Ary, the league's administrator, has secured financial support
from Suwandi Bing Adi, the general affairs manager of the West
Javanese textile giant, Hadtex Panasia Indosyntex, to bring
Jordan to Indonesia.
Jordan, who led the Chicago Bulls' NBA championship hat trick
of 1991, 1992 and 1993, might ask for more than Rp 2 billion
(US$855,066) to appear here, Bela said.
NBA legend Earvin Magic Johnson agreed to a Rp 2 billion
appearance fee in 1994, Bela said. Johnson was then denied a visa
because many government officials were uneasy about having an
HIV-infected athlete visit Indonesia.
As for Stackhouse, Bela said the rookie is ready to visit for
Rp 600 million, excluding accommodation and airfares. If an
agreement with Jordan can't be reached, Stackhouse will happily
replace him, Bela said.
The Indonesian Basketball League has imported players since
the 1994 season. The league's first leg was completed on Sunday,
with Aspac Jakarta leading the provisional standings.
Semarang, the capital of Central Java, will host the league's
second leg from May 14 to May 19. The third leg will be held at
the Senayan Basketball Hall in Jakarta between June 4 and June 9.
The fourth leg will be at the Padjajaran Hall in Bogor from July
9 to July 14. (arf)