Kobatama clubs seek foreign players

Kobatama clubs seek foreign players

JAKARTA (JP): Two Indonesian Basketball League (Kobatama) clubs plan to recruit foreign players in Los Angeles prior to the new season that begins next month.

The league's administrator Budi Rustanto said yesterday that representatives of the clubs, Indonesia Muda and CLS, will be accompanied by league officials, Sonny Hendrawan and Eky Tamtelahitu, during the talent scouting program. They will leave on Thursday.

Kobatama has named Pro Advantage and Ellis as the authorized agents of the foreign players interested in playing in Indonesia's professional league, which was introduced in 1994.

The league allows the 10 club members to field two foreign signings in each game they play.

Bima Sakti, Pelita Jaya, Hadtex and defending champion Aspac have decided not to use the service offered by the two agents.

Budi said that Jakarta-based Pelita Jaya had confirmed its contract with Canadian Bobby Allen. Budi did not disclose how much the deal cost the club, which finished third last season.

Budi also said that Pelita Jaya is considering buying American Charles Jones from the Siliwangi team of Bandung, West Java.

Siliwangi along with Satria Muda and Pacific have each agreed to take on a foreign player chosen by the league.

According to league rules, each club must hire at least one import player to even out the competition in the league.

But the regulation caused Halim of Kediri, East Java, to boycott the league. Halim's resignation led the way for Glory of Semarang, Central Java, to move up from the second division into Kobatama. (05)