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)