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)