No foreigners in basketball championships
No foreigners in basketball championships
JAKARTA (JP): The country's professional basketball league
(Kobatama) will kick off in Bandung on Sep. 20, but unlike in
previous seasons, this year's league will be devoid of imported
players and prize money.
The Indonesian Basketball Association's official in charge of
the league, Setiadarma Madjid, said yesterday that financial
troubles had made it impossible for the organizers to provide
prize money.
"Participating clubs have not retained their foreign players
for the same reason," he told a media conference. Foreign players
have been adding spice to the league since 1994.
A lack of sponsors had delayed the league for four months
before cigarette brand A Mild, a subsidiary of giant cigarette
manufacturer Sampoerna, agreed to extend its sponsorship deal
with the league.
Setiadarma said he was upbeat that the league would not lose
its sparkle without foreign players.
"We believe that basketball enthusiasts will continue to
support the league," he said.
The 10 clubs competing in the league are defending champion
Panasia Indosyntec and Siliwangi, both from Bandung; Bhinneka
from Surakarta; Aspac, Pelita Bakrie, IM Texmaco and Ades Satria
Muda, all from Jakarta; CLS and Pacific from Surabaya; and Bima
Sakti from Malang in East Java.
Only five teams will turn up for the opening leg of the league
between Sep. 30 and Oct. 4. The other five clubs will lock horns
in Surakarta from Oct. 21 to Oct. 25. They will play round-robin
matches.
All the teams will meet each other in Surabaya between Nov. 10
and Nov. 15 to vie for places in the last four. The league will
then be decided at the Senayan Basketball Hall in Jakarta on Dec.
12 and Dec. 13.
Setiadarma said the tournament toured the country to promote
the sport in cities other than Jakarta.
Aspac team manager Irawan Haryono said that his team,
victorious in 1995 and 1996, had set its sights on a place in the
last four. "We are out to regain the title this time around," he
said.
His Pelita counterpart, Totok Sudarsono, said he would not
dare to dream of success because of the hasty preparations his
team have made for this year's competition.
Separately, the association's secretary-general, Sri Sudono
Sumarto, said that Indonesia would not send a team to the
Southeast Asian Basketball Association (SEABA) championships in
Kuala Lumpur next month for financial and technical reasons.
"We cannot afford the Rp 400 million (US$30,770) that we need
to send a team. Besides, we won't have enough time to select
players. They will be busy with the league when the SEABA
championship is underway," he said. (yan)