Proliga pledges donation to flood victims
Musthofid, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Four matches involving eight volleyball teams in Jakarta marked the start of the inaugural Proliga on Friday, with the organizers pledging a donation to charity from ticket sales.
At the same time in Gresik, East Java, another eight teams played out their matches.
Proliga is the professional volleyball league launched this year by the Indonesian Volleyball Association (PBVSI), with sponsorship from business entity m-lynx.
The Jakarta fixtures, staged at the Bung Karno Indoor Stadium, pitted host Jakarta Monas against Jakarta Sananta, Jakarta Patriot against Bandung Tectona in the men's competition.
In the women's, Jakarta Monas played Jakarta Princess, while Jakarta Patriot took on Bandung Tectona.
Meanwhile, the organizers announced that the outcome from the ticket sales would be donated to victims of the recent floods, which has stricken Jakarta over the past four days.
"As a token of our sympathy, we intend to donate all the money we make from the tickets of Proliga matches played in Jakarta to the flood victims," Hasan Soeftendi, the chairman of the organizing committee, said in his opening speech.
Jakarta Monas will play host four times, the remaining three days being Feb. 3, Mar. 1 and Mar. 3.
Twenty three people were reported dead and thousands have been forced to evacuate their homes in the worst flood to hit the city for five years.
Deputy chairman of Proliga's organizing committee Masril Mansyur was reluctant to predict the amount of money the organizers expected to make.
"Don't look at the amount of the money but our goodwill," he said.
He might have been concerned about the prospect of a low intake, as the matches appeared to draw little interest from volleyball enthusiasts.
Attendance might drop below 200 in the 5,000-capacity hall, with Masril blaming it on m-lynx, which is responsible for the league's promotion.
"I am not happy with the promotion of Proliga. You can quote me on that," he said.
In Jakarta, Jakarta Monas defeated Jakarta Sananta 3-1 in the men's division first match. Monas won 25-20, 25-22, 23-25, 25-15.
In the women's division, Jakarta Monas lost after being beaten by Jakarta Princess 25-20, 16-25, 24-26, 9-25.
In the second match, Bandung Tectona of West Java defeated Jakarta Patriot in a 25-15, 25-18, 26-24 straight set victory.
Meanwhile in Gresik, East Java, Yogya Yuwana also had a straight set victory after defeating Bogor Tunas of West Java 25- 22, 25-20, 25-16 in the men's division.
In the women's division, Bogor Tunas girls had their revenge, defeating Yogya Yuwana in a straight sets victory of 26-24, 25- 17, 25-19.
In another match, Jakarta Phinisi beat host Gresik Phonska 3-0 (25-19, 26-24, 25-18).