National basketball team undergoes final workout
JAKARTA (JP): The national basketball team will challenge local clubs as its final preparation for the 20th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in Brunei Darussalam next month.
Coach Tjetjep Firmansyah said on Monday that his team would meet Mahaka Satria Muda club on July 27 and Aspac club on July 29. The games will allow players to develop a competitive spirit and adapt to the mental pressure caused by basketball games.
"We want to evaluate our weaknesses. We want to know the players' response when they meet weaker teams. It's just a test, we are not talking about winning and losing," he said.
The national squad is taking part in an exhibition game organized by the Indonesian Basketball Association (Perbasi) and the newly launched sports management company PT 3Points Media Promosindo. The exhibition will take place at Senayan basket hall at 5 p.m.
The national team will meet Kobatama team -- consisting of top players from six clubs, including three players who were expelled from the national team: Pek King Dhay (Pacific Bank Swadesi) and Hari Suharsono (CNS) and other players from Indonesia Muda Texmaco and Mahaka Satria Muda.
"Frankly speaking, the team we face tomorrow is stronger than Mahaka Satria Muda and Aspac. I'll consider that we have established a good team if it wins the three games," he said.
Tjetjep said his team would use the games to improve teamwork.
Indonesia, which has set its sights on a silver medal, will face a tough challenge from seven other competitors in the round- robin. One tough contender is the Philippines, winner of the Southeast Asian Basketball Association (SEABA) championship.
"I am not sure whether we can reach the finals, but I hope we can grab the silver," Tjetjep said.
Separately, the Indonesian Swimming Federation (PRSI) will most likely enlist the men's 4X100 meters freestyle relay team to compete in the qualifying round for the 2000 Olympic Games after the SEA Games, which also serve as an Olympics pre-qualifying round.
Lukman Niode, SEA Games training director, said the team would consist of Wisnu Wardhana, Richard Sam Bera and twin brothers Albert and Felix Sutanto.
"The team has been named as the world's best eight in the 4X100 freestyle relay," he said.
Lukman said Indonesia had less of a chance in the individual events, saying Richard had the world highest ranking in the national team. Richard's world ranking is in the 30s.
Richard, a 50m and 100m free-style swimmer, will join the national squad for the SEA Games this week. The veteran swimmer recently competed in the three-day Janet Evans invitational meet in Los Angeles, California.
Richard clocked 51.78 seconds in the 100m and 23.8 seconds in the 50m.
"He's outstanding. He's now 98 percent of his peak performance for the Games," Lukman said.
He said he would see if the women's team could also compete in the Olympics qualifying round, which was expected to be held by the end of this year.
"We'll see the development. We will see if they can recover to reach their peak form by the end of the year," he said.
The SEA Games swimming events will held from Aug. 8 to Aug. 13.(ivy)