RI women's team beaten in friendly

RI women's team beaten in friendly

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia's women's basketball team suffered a
humiliating 145-39 loss to the Canton senior team in its second
friendly in Canton, China, on Thursday, during the teams warm-up
tour for the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games.

Team manager Max B. Lani said in a press release after the
game that his players were too nervous to compete against the
Canton team, which stands in fourth place in the local senior
league.

"From the first to the fourth quarter, the Chinese pressured
our players," he said.

The pressure forced the Indonesians to commit numerous
turnovers. Moreover, Max said, the Chinese center, standing at
1.92m, towered over Indonesia's Nova Bella Yunita, who is only
1.83m.

"The players were unable to deal with the pressure from the
Cantonese players. On the other hand, the Cantonese seemed very
exhausted when they were playing offensive."

Max said Theresa Ninon committed 18 turnovers while Yuni had
16. He also said the friendly had taught the Indonesians a good
lesson.

He expressed his optimism that his team would do well at the
SEA Games in Kuala Lumpur if they continued practicing and
learning. (ivy)